Newcastle United got exactly what they needed from £10m Crystal Palace transfer: View | OneFootball

Newcastle United have spent brief spells in the Championship over the last 15 years.

Since the Premier League's inception, the Magpies have been an established top tier side, having spent all-but two seasons in the Premier League since they won promotion in 1993. They were runners-up on two occasions in the 1990s, and also twice runners-up in the FA Cup.

On the other hand though, they have suffered two relegations since, which has seen the club briefly fall into the Championship, firstly in 2009, and then again in 2016.

Fortunately, they won the Championship title on both occasions and made an immediate return to the top flight, so in a way, those are enjoyable campaigns to look back on for Newcastle.

Newcastle's squad in the 2016/17 campaign was incredibly strong, and it is no real surprise that they finished the season as champions. One man in particular signed for the Magpies ahead of that campaign, and ended up being hugely important in their title victory.

Dwight Gayle arrives at Newcastle

Dwight Gayle spent three years at Selhurst Park and was a strong attacking option in the Premier League, having scored 25 goals in 74 appearances in all competitions.

In the summer of 2016, Newcastle had just been relegated from the Premier League and were looking to recruit a striker who would provide regular goals in the Championship. They turned their heads to Palace's Dwight Gayle and the two clubs agreed a deal worth £10 million which saw him permanently arrive at St James' Park on a five-year contract.

Surprisingly, that was not even Newcastle's highest paid transfer that summer, as they also secured the services of popular winger, Matt Richie, for £12 million from Bournemouth.

Under the management of Rafa Benitez, Newcastle were in a strong position going into this Championship campaign, as they aimed for an immediate return to the Premier League.

Dwight Gayle's 2016/17 campaign

Newcastle's title race actually went to the wire as Brighton and Hove Albion remained as strong contenders until the last game of the season. Both clubs achieved automatic promotion, but it was Newcastle who finished the season as Champions after Brighton collapsed after sealing automatic promotion.

Gayle exceeded all expectations in his first season as he finished as the club's top scorer by some distance. The striker scored an incredible 23 goals from just 26 league starts and was a real breath of fresh air for the club following their relegation. His 23 goals included two hat-tricks against Norwich City and Birmingham City, as well as five braces.

Gayle was a goal machine, and without him Newcastle might have struggled hugely in their Championship title hunt. In the season prior, their top scorer was midfielder, Georginio Wijnaldum, so it was nice to have a prolific striker on the books, following the departures of the likes of Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse and Loic Remy.

In that regard, Newcastle got exactly what they needed from the £10 million deal with Crystal Palace as his 23 goals ultimately led Newcastle to gaining promotion to the Premier League and adding a league title to their trophy cabinet in the process.