Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez has claimed that his star striker Dwight Gayle is good enough to play for England, report ChronicleLive.
When asked about the possibility of Gayle making the step-up to international level, ChronicleLive quote Benitez as saying: “Yes, I think he’s an interesting player. He has a lot of good things.”
Gayle signed for the Magpies in July for what the Daily Mail reported as a fee of £10 million. He has gone a long way to justifying that fee in the early stages of the season, having scored 11 goals in his opening 12 league games.
His goal-scoring exploits have played a big hand in Newcastle’s success this campaign. Benitez’s men sit top of the Championship after seven wins on the bounce.
If Gayle could replicate that sort of form on the international stage then it would be of great benefit to England. It is quite the gap in quality between the Championship and playing for your country, though.
You may recall in 2010, Jay Bothroyd was called into the England squad after performing well for Cardiff, but he fell off the map and never made another appearance.