Newcastle United pipped Brighton to the Championship title on the final day of the season after the Seagulls stuttered in the closing weeks, and boss Rafa Benitez will have been delighted to see his troops battle to the very end and be rewarded for their labours with the crown.

Newcastle were excellent at both ends of the pitch, and led the way with the joint best defensive and offensive output, but going forward was where the club was particularly impressive, amassing a mighty 85 goals through 46 league games.

A lot of that success must be attributed to top goalscorer Dwight Gayle, who smashed 23 goals at a rate of a goal every 93 minutes, marking a return of pretty much a goal per game.

This is a fantastic record, and had Gayle been fit for the duration of the campaign, he surely would have beaten Chris Wood to the top of the goalscoring charts.

Despite this however, Gayle has been linked with a move away from Newcastle, with Middlesbrough expressing a keen interest in bringing the player to Teesside if their bid for Forest’s Britt Assombalonga fails.

Newcastle will spend big this summer now they are blessed with the fortunes of the Premier League, and Gayle could actually find himself on the peripheral by the start of the season if a number of big names come through the door at St James’.

It would be mad for Newcastle to allow Gayle to leave, but stranger things have happened, and Rafa Benitez will hold no sentiment in his summer rebuild ahead of what is set to be a gruelling top flight campaign.

If Gayle is available, then Middlesbrough may even consider abandoning their bid for Assombalonga if Forest’s demands are too lofty, and in Gayle, they would have one of the deadliest marksmen in the division.

Both would be excellent additions to manager Garry Monk’s set up, but Newcastle would be crazy to allow Gayle to leave, as he deserves a crack at the top flight after such a prolific campaign last time out.