Port Vale head coach Darren Moore has opened up about the recent rumours that he is set to unite with free-agent striker Dwight Gayle, who recently terminated his contract with Stoke City.
Moore was named as the new manager at Vale Park earlier this week, penning a whopping five-and-a-half-year deal to keep him with the Valiants until 2029, becoming Andy Crosby’s permanent successor in the dugout.
The 49-year-old was relieved of his duties with Championship outfit Huddersfield Town in the wake of a 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers at the end of January but was out of work for merely two weeks before jumping into another relegation battle, albeit in the division below.
Port Vale have been on a dreadful run of form in England’s second tier and have failed to pick up a victory since the last game of 2023. The Burslem club are winless in six matches in 2024 but face a huge relegation clash away at Cheltenham Town this Saturday in Moore’s debut at the helm.
There were rumblings this past week that Gayle was a target for Moore as a potential signing outside the transfer window but the new gaffer has since quashed these rumours while speaking to BBC Radio Stoke.
“I can understand people linking [him], you know in terms of Dwight’s position that he’s in and our time that we spent at West Brom.
“Wonderful human being, a good footballer. [I] can see the fit, what he would be, where fans would probably be putting sums together,” he continued.
“But as a manager, I sit here and say, there’s nothing in it really, [but] I can understand everybody surmising that.”
On this Day 5 years ago, we went to the Bet365 Stadium where Dwight Gayle scored the only goal to give us a 1-0 win over Stoke City.#WBApic.twitter.com/k4q78twcAJ
— AllAlbionFans (@AllAlbionFans) February 9, 2024
Writer’s View
Gayle moving to Vale Park would be ideal for the player given Port Vale are close in location to Stoke City. However, the former Premier League frontman has managed just four goals across the last four campaigns with the Potters and Newcastle United.
Nevertheless, if Moore can entice the 34-year-old to sign on until the end of the campaign on relatively affordable wages, it may be an interesting option to explore for the club, who have the seventh-worst attack in League One.
