Dwight Gayle isrelieved to have lived up to the heritage of Newcastle United’s fabled ‘number nine’ shirt.
Gayle’s sensational start to his Newcastle career continued on Tuesday night as his two goals against Barnsley lifted the Magpies to the top of the table for the first time this season.
The 26-year-old has scored 11 goals in 11 Championship appearances since completing a £10m move from Crystal Palace this summer, a record that bears scrutiny when ranked alongside the performance of some of his most recent predecessors in the number nine jersey.
Papiss Cisse, who vacated the number nine shirt when he moved to China in the close season, scored 13 goals in his first 12 outings for the Magpies, while Alan Shearer, the most celebrated striker in the club’s recent history, claimed ten goals in his first 13 appearances for his hometown team.
“I obviously know the history the (number nine) shirt holds, and the pressure that’s going to be on the shirt, but I’m enjoying it at the moment and luckily it’s going well right now,” said Gayle, who went more than a month without a goal before claiming seven in his most recent four outings. “Hopefully, it continues too.
“You sort of have some expectations of what it might be like (if things go well), but it’s been brilliant. The fans here are unbelievable – we had 6,000 away from home on a Tuesday night in the Championship, which is unheard of.
“It felt like a home game because they were singing louder than the home fans. If that continues, then confidence will only grow and we’ll just keep getting better.”