Dwight Gayle still hasn’t scored since leaving Newcastle for Stoke

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When Dwight Gayle left Newcastle United for Stoke City, it looked like the perfect move. However, the striker still hasn’t scored for his new team.

The 33-year-old is enduring a barren start to life with the Potters, and he extended his goalless run to 18 games on Wednesday night.

Stoke took on Wigan Athletic in the Championship, and managed to pick up the three points courtesy of a goal from Josh Tymon. The assist came from Gayle – his fourth of the season so far.

But while he has managed to create goals for his teammates, he hasn’t been able to find the back of the net himself.

It’s not been for lack of minutes. Out of his 18 appearances in all competitions, Gayle has been in the starting lineup on 16 occasions. Even a change of manager didn’t see him lose his place in the team, with Alex Neil coming in to replace Michael O’Neill.

Gayle is having a season to forget since leaving St James’ Park, and that comes as a huge surprise.

Dwight Gayle has previously been prolific in the Championship

When Gayle arrived at Newcastle in 2015, we were in the Championship. He was brought in by Rafa Benitez for £10million score the goals needed for promotion.

The striker provided just that, scoring 23 times in 32 Championship appearances on route to the title.

Then after one season in the Premier League with Newcastle, he was loaned out to the second tier. Gayle picked up where he left off, scoring 24 in all competitions for West Brom.

It was very clear that he was perfectly suited to the Championship. He almost seemed like a cheat code for teams that wanted to compete for promotion.

That’s why he felt like such a good signing for Stoke. A move away was essential, with Gayle barely playing in his final full season under Steve Bruce, then featuring even less when Eddie Howe came in.

Despite not playing much, Howe was incredibly complimentary towards the former Palace forward. He even described him as ‘one of the best finishers’ he’s worked with and said that he is ‘guaranteed goals’.

However, Stoke fans would argue that isn’t the case. Gayle is yet to score, and his new side currently find themselves in 17th position.

Luckily for them, they’re at least not paying all of his wages. It was recently reported by the Telegraph that Newcastle are still paying Gayle £40,000-a-week, despite leaving the club permanently in July.