With the Chronicle confirming this week that Rafa Benitez does hold an interest in recently linked Stoke midfielder Badou Ndiaye, Newcastle United could be set to use the Potters pursuit of Dwight Gayle as a potential bargaining tool this summer.
Whilst part-exchanges are rare in this day and age, our attempts to sign Ndiaye could be boosted by Gary Rowett’s apparent interest in Gayle – with the recently relegated side believed to have had a £10m offer rebuffed for the striker this month.
With the Chronicle confirming Rafa's interest in Badou Ndiaye and Stoke recently making a £10m bid for Dwight Gayle, could we use the latter as a bargaining tool to sign Ndiaye?
— Black&WhiteBarmy (@BlackWhiteBarmy) June 22, 2018
The Chronicle revealed just yesterday that Newcastle held an interest in Ndiaye leading up to the January window, however claimed were unwilling to pay the £14m Stoke spent to sign him from Galatasaray.
Earlier this week it was claimed that the Senegalese international was ‘keen’ on a move to Tyneside, suggesting we had reignited our interest – although the same story claimed that Newcastle were yet to agree terms with Stoke over a potential deal.
This is where their interest in Gayle could come into it.
It sounds like Rafa prefers not to sell Gayle due to our lack of striking options, but it has been said that we’d considering cashing in if a significant offer arrived.
Whilst I doubt Stoke are ready to break the bank for Gayle, it could sweeten the deal significantly for NUFC if we sanctioned his move to the Midlands on the basis that we get Badou Ndiaye in return.
It’s unlikely to work that way, but with Rafa said to be considering Ndiaye as a Merino replacement, their eagerness to sign a proven Championship scorer in Dwight Gayle will only strengthen our hand.
Newcastle’s eagerness to sign Ndiaye could equally strengthen Stoke’s hand in their pursuit of Gayle?
David Jones(Quote)