Dwight Gayle has managed to impress in the first few matches of his Derby County career, landing plenty of praise for his appearances.
Former Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth agrees with ex-Peterborough United forward on Dwight Gayle‘s move to Derby County. It comes after the centre-forward made the move to the Rams as a free agent.
Gayle saw his deal with Stoke City terminated in January, with Paul Warne swooping to land him following injuries up front. Three goals in his last three games has seen the former Newcastle man pick up points on his own, which is worth a lot in such a tight promotion push.
Derby will be hoping for plenty more in the coming weeks, with the race for the automatic places heating up.
Dwight Gayle verdict
Speaking on Sky Sports ahead of Peterborough United’s clash with Stevenage, both McLean and Ainsworth had plenty of praise for Gayle when reviewing the midweek action. McLean, who won promotion with the Posh from League One, discussed the quality in the Rams squad.
“Gayley [Dwight Gayle] is definitely a cheat code at this level because he’s an out-and-out goal scorer,” McLean said. Ainsworth, who had previously guided Wycombe Wanderers to the Championship as manager, added: “I can’t believe Dwight Gayle was mentioned in League One the other day, wow!”
McLean continued: “It’s insane, but if you go through the Derby squad and you know, you’ve got Mendez-Laing, who I think is too good for this level. You’ve got Conor Hourihane, he was playing in the Premier League for Aston Villa only a few years ago.
“So I think the size of the club in Derby, the expectation that obviously comes with that, but the players that they’re able to attract. And to bring someone like Dwight Gayle in at this stage of the season, you know it really shows the intentions around the place.”
Ainsworth added: “What a player to have at this level and it just shows the strength of this league at the top end. It really is a top league now and some huge clubs.”
The impact
The impact of Gayle since arriving at Derby has been two-fold, both with his scoring and what he offers the team beyond that. Three goals in three games has seen Warne’s team pick up all nine points on offer, which is important.
However, even looking past that, there are plenty of other places in which Gayle contributes to the team. The first is that by playing at centre-forward, it allows other players to stay in their best positions, such as Nathaniel Mendez-Laing out wide.
Another positive impact is that Gayle can stretch the opposition backline both ways. The striker has enough pace to turn behind a defence and cause them problems, such as his bursting run to win a penalty against Reading.
But there’s also enough technical and physical quality to drop deep and receive the ball with his back to goal. It’s a mix of attributes that only Conor Washington really has in the squad at that centre-forward position.
It shows the importance of the signing, which may still have more of an input on the outcome of the season in the coming weeks.
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