This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

For Championship sides like West Brom and Nottingham Forest, who may be looking to add to their firepower in the January transfer window, they now know Newcastle United are only willing to accept bids in excess of £15 million for Dwight Gayle, before they allow the 29-year-old to leave, according to a report in The Telegraph.

Toon manager Steve Bruce probably thinks a valuation of this magnitude will scare off clubs outside of the Premier League, but with a host of tier two clubs including West Brom and Forest expressing an interest it could be that this is put to the test.

So should the Baggies and Forest be prepared to pay £15 million to secure the services of Gayle? Or is that too much for the striker?

We discuss........

Ned Holmes

"This is a really tough one. £15 million is a lot of money to spend for a Championship club but it could prove the difference-maker for their season.

"Gayle is a proven goalscorer at that level–as evidenced by his 24 goals and 8 assists for the Baggies last season.

"For the Baggies, I think it comes down to the form of Kenneth Zohore and Charlie Austin. If those two are continuing to struggle in front of goal then I think it makes sense to bring him in, particularly as the rest of their side are in such good shape.

"Forest already have Lewis Grabban but if they can afford to add Gayle it could be huge for them–as long as buying him and not achieving promotion isn't going to financially cripple them I think they should do it."

Jordan Rushworth

“Gayle would certainly be an excellent signing for both West Brom and Nottingham Forest in January, and he could be the player to bring in to add that all-important extra firepower up front to get either of the two clubs promoted to the Premier League.

“Forest’s need to bring in a striker is probably greater than West Brom’s at the moment, with Sabri Lamouchi needing to add another option up front to provide some support to Lewis Grabban, and Gayle would all but guarantee goals for Forest which could make the difference come the end of the season.

“West Brom’s need to bring in another striker has been eased a little given Hal Robson-Kanu’s recent form, but having performed so well for them last season, Gayle would help to provide another outlet for Slaven Bilic’s side to help see them over the line.

“£15million would be a lot of money for either side to spend on Gayle in January, but if they were to sign him and his goals were to take them to the Premier League then it would be well worth that transfer fee.”

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Josh Cole

“This would turn out to be a shrewd addition by Forest or West Brom as Gayle is arguably worth the fee that Newcastle are touting due to his pedigree at Championship level.

“Having scored 59 goals in 100 games in the second-tier, the forward clearly has what it takes to thrive in this division and thus would be a key asset for either of the aforementioned clubs.

“Whilst Forest are able to call upon the services of Lewis Grabban, their back-up options have yet to hit the ground running at the City Ground this season.

“West Brom meanwhile have a number of attacking options at their disposal yet a move for Gayle could potentially guarantee them automatic promotion.

“Therefore, both sides should consider splashing the cash on the former Crystal Palace man in the January transfer window.”