Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle has committed his future to the club by signing a new contract, The Athletic revealed on Monday.

The Magpies had been facing the possibility of Gayle leaving on a free transfer on the expiry of his current deal in June. Relegation rivals Fulham were said to have held a long-term interest in the striker, while a report in March claimed that Turkish side Galatasaray were also keen.

However, the 30-year-old has put that speculation to bed, accepting reduced terms to extend his stay on Tyneside. He had previously been earning a reported £40,000 per week.

Gayle's limited involvement at Newcastle

The £4.5m-rated striker has only scored one Premier League goal this season in 11 appearances, but it should be noted that just two of those were starts and he was also missing for the 10 matches of the campaign with a ligament injury.

Gayle was selected - as a winger - for the trip to Chelsea last month and the draw at home to Aston Villa following injuries to Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson, but he was back to a watching brief for the woeful 3-0 defeat against Brighton last time out.

Transfer Tavern verdict

It may be something of a surprise that Newcastle have endeavoured to keep a 30-year-old who  Steve Bruce has rarely deployed in his starting XI despite him praising the ex-Crystal Palace marksman as a "natural goalscorer".

Perhaps there is a slight element of planning for a possible relegation,as Gayle has been a devastating Championship hitman in the past. In the 2016/17 campaign, he bagged 23 goals for the Toon in the second tier, a feat he repeated with West Bromwich Albion a couple of seasons later (via Transfermarkt).

He may not be enjoying a stellar few months of late, but at least Newcastle have kept hold of one proven marksman for the foreseeable future.

In other news, Newcastle are reportedly preparing a bargain deal for this defender.