£10m ex-Newcastle United striker joins League One side following Stoke City release

Dwight Gayle will be playing his football for League One promotion chasers Derby County after joining them on a free transfer. Gayle had been a free agent for around three weeks after leaving Stoke City earlier this month.

The Rams currently sit 2nd in the League One table and had to seek EFL approval for the transfer after exiting administration in 2022 and signing a business plan agreement with the EFL. That approval has come and means Gayle is free to play for his new club as soon as possible - much to the delight of manager Paul Warne who has recently seen his top scorer for the season, James Collins, ruled-out of action for a considerable period of time with a knee injury.

Gayle, who turned 34 in October, joined Stoke on a free transfer from Newcastle United in July 2022 but managed just three goals in 50 games in all competitions for the Potters - with two of those coming in a 5-1 win over Sunderland in March last year. Derby will be hoping Gayle can rediscover the form that saw him spearhead Newcastle’s promotion from the Championship during the 2016/17 season where he netted 23 times in just 32 appearances in the league after a £10m move from Crystal Palace.

He would then follow that up with a six goal haul in the Premier League for the Magpies before being sent back to the Championship to join West Brom on-loan ahead of the 2018/19 season. Gayle would once again score 23 times, plus another in the play-offs, but couldn’t help the Baggies win promotion back to the top-flight.