Newcastle players react as Dwight Gayle officially joins Stoke City

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Dwight Gayle is no longer a Newcastle United player, joining Stoke City on a two-year deal.

The forward’s time as a Magpie has come to an end, spending six years on the books at St James’ Park. He leaves on a free transfer, having spent the last two years on the fringes of the first-team.

Gayle barely featured after Eddie Howe’s appointment, but was always heavily praised by the Toon boss. He recently spoke about hoping the 32-year-old gets the move he needs, and that has now happened.

He will be a Championship player now, and it’s a division he knows very well. It’s where Newcastle were when he arrived, costing £10million from Crystal Palace.

Gayle was a pivotal signing on route to promotion, scoring 23 league goals as Rafa Benitez’s side won the title. There were some key strikes in there, including a brace against Leeds and his famous hat-trick in the 4-3 comeback win over Norwich.

He also scored on the final day of that season against Barnlsey, helping Newcastle leapfrog Brighton into top spot. That goal will be remembered more for the celebration, as he mocked rivals Sunderland’s demise.

Now Gayle will be playing in a red and white shirt, joining Stoke where he’ll be managed by former Toon player Michael O’Neill.

Dwight Gayle delivers message to Toon fans as he joins Stoke

Following the announcement, Gayle has delivered a heartfelt message to Toon fans on Instagram.

Alongside a video of some of his goals, he wrote: “Thank you so much to @nufc and the city itself. I’ve loved my time here and you really have made me and my family so welcome throughout. I wish you all the best in the future and look forward to watching your successes.”

Multiple Toon players have responded to Gayle’s post, wishing him well for the future.

Captain Jamaal Lascelles led the tributes. He wrote: “What a guy! Been a pleasure bro.”

Federico Fernandez also commented, writing: “All the best Dwight.”

Isaac Hayden, who is currently on loan at Norwich, delivered a nice message to his former teammate. He wrote: “Pleasure to play with for so many years. All the best and see you this season.”

Hayden’s Norwich side will face Gayle’s Stoke on October 29th, meaning they are a few months away from a reunion. It will certainly be interesting to see how the two players fare at their new clubs.

For Gayle, he will hope his goals can lead a promotion charge at Stoke. They did at Newcastle, and he almost took West Brom up during a loan spell.

He’s the perfect second tier striker. Sadly, he didn’t quite score enough goals for Newcastle in the Premier League.

His last Toon goal came in December 2020, a wonderful header to secure a late win against the Baggies. It was his 34th Newcastle goal.

Gayle deserves huge respect for what he did at Newcastle, and all fans will wish him well in the future.

Good luck, Dwight!