Dwight Gayle could be in line for a recall for Newcastle on Saturday, even though he’s never quite done it at Premier League level. Gayle makes our list of five players who were expected to star in the top flight after excelling in the Championship but have instead found it a struggle.
The Newcastle forward joined the club in 2016 under Rafa Benitez with one remit in mind – score the goals to get the Toon Army back in the Premier League as quickly as possible.
Gayle had a good goalscoring record previously wherever he had been, but was never truly afforded an extended run of games in the Premier League.
He scored 23 in the Championship for Newcastle as they won promotion at the first attempt but the following season he struggled to make an impact scoring just six times in 35 Premier League games.
Gayle seems to be in the boat of ‘being too good for the Championship but not quite at Premier League level’. Here are four more players who also fall into that category.
Robert Earnshaw
Probably the original not-good-enough-for-the-Premier-League-but-excels-in-the-Championship sort of player – the Wales international had very productive spells in the second tier with Cardiff, Norwich, and Nottingham Forest.
From his spell at Cardiff, he earned a move to West Brom in the summer of 2004 and had a positive impact in his first half-season, scoring 11 goals.
However, Earnshaw’s main problem was the fact he scored goals – bizarrely – as beyond finding the back of the net, he did not contribute much more.
Bryan Robson preferred the likes of Nathan Ellington and Diomansy Kamara and Earnshaw had to submit two transfer requests before moving onto Norwich in the 2006-07 season. He scored goals in the Championship again thereafter, predictably.
Peter Whittingham
Whittingham seemed like one of those players who was destined for a Premier League switch early in his career but it never came at the right time.
Joining for a bargain fee of £350,000 from Aston Villa in January 2007, Whittingham was the lynchpin of Cardiff’s midfield and his cultured left foot took them to the brink of the Premier League on numerous occasions.
He scored 20 goals from midfield in the 2009-10 season, but had to wait another three years for a Premier League chance, when he scored just three in 32 as Cardiff went down.
A story of a player who was maybe too loyal to one club.
Matej Vydra
Another man who seemed destined to shine in the top flight – Czech forward Vydra scored 20 in 41 games in his first Championship season on loan with the Hornets.
After they failed to achieve promotion, West Broom took a punt on loan but three goals in 23 games meant Udinese sent him back to Watford for the 2014-15 season.
Sixteen goals in 42 games followed and this time Watford did achieve promotion, but Vydra was not to be included in their plans.
Fast forward three years later and 20 goals in 41 Championship games for Derby earned him a top-flight move to Burnley. You know what’s happened since.
.@ThomasCairney’s stunner has been nominated for the @SkyBetChamp Goal of the Month award Vote for TC #AintNobody
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) October 14, 2019
Tom Cairney
Maybe this one is harsh, but Cairney did nothing in his one Premier League season with Fulham to suggest he has a long-term future in the top flight.
He spent three years at Fulham scoring goals and creating from midfield, very much like Whittingham at Cardiff.
After helping Fulham go up, the Scotland man looked a little lightweight and slow for the Premier League, and he could only score once all season, as they were sent tumbling back down to the Championship.
Perhaps in a better team, his technical qualities could shine through, but last season may have been a wasted chance for him.
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