Bookies think Gayle is untouchable in race for Championship top scorer

For those of you that religiously read Ladbrokes News over the summer, you’ll have seen than we thought Newcastle United had an early contender for signing of the season in Dwight Gayle. And judging by the way in which he’s taken to life in the Championship, we hate to say we told you so.

Before a ball was kicked in the second tier of English football, we were offering odds of 8/1 for the former Crystal Palace hitman to top the division’s scoring charts. His price even drifted to 9s after he failed to find the net in Newcastle’s opener against Fulham.

But, as expected, he’s certainly proving his worth at the minute, with 11 goals to his name in as many appearances so far this season.

And his brace last night now puts him three ahead of his nearest challengers, Tammy Abraham of Bristol City and Scott Hogan of Brentford.

It’ll come as no surprise then to learn that he’s the first striker in England this year to be priced odds-on at 8/13 to win a Golden Boot award.

The 25-year-old has already surpassed the combined eight league goals he managed in the last two years for Palace, and is well on course to make this the most prolific season of his professional career.

Gayle is making many a critic eat their words, afterthe striker’s hefty price tag of £10m was brought into question by many over the summer. And providing he can stay fit, there’s every reason to believe he can break Glenn Murray’s Championship record of 30 goals in a season.

It’s 7/4 for him to do just that, and he can add to his tally this weekend when Ipswich Town visit St James’ Park.

So what do you think? Is Dwight Gayle the best striker to ever play at this level? Let us know in the comments section below!

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing