NEWCASTLE UNITED new-boy Dwight Gayle has revealed his dream to become a ‘great hero’ during his time at St James’ Park by firing in the goals to bring Premier League football back to Tyneside.

Gayle and fellow new recruit Matt Ritchie – who cost a combined £22m from Crystal Palace and Bournemouth respectively – were paraded in front of the local media at the club’s Benton training complex for the first time yesterday.

Both attackers explained how playing under Rafael Benitez and the prospect of impressing in front of a packed 50,000-plus crowd in every home game were crucial factors in the decision to leave their former clubs behind.

Benitez is working on further additions and Blackburn skipper Grant Hanley, 24, has emerged as his latest defensive target after making enquiries about Middlesbrough’s Daniel Ayala and Queens Park Rangers’ Steven Caulker.

Hanley, a Scotland international, could be moved on at the right price at Ewood Park and sources close to the Lancashire club suggest a deal could be concluded sooner rather than later. Newcastle are already on tying up the loose ends of a deal for Atletico Madrid defender Jesus Gamez.

Whoever comes in will join Gayle, Ritchie and goalkeeper Matz Sels; all of whom are familiar with their new team-mates after spending the last week with them under Benitez his backroom team.

Gayle, after moving from Palace in a £10m deal, has already set his goalscoring target for the season to 20 and knows he could become a fans’ favourite by finding the net regularly at a club where strikers can be adored.

He said: “It would be amazing if I can make the fans happy here. I want to become a great hero at this club as a No 9. That would be everything I would want really … everything I would dream of sitting here now.”

The 25-year-old added: “I would love to wear the No 9, this club has a great history of strikers here and surrounding that number. Obviously I would enjoy taking it. There were some great English strikers around as I was growing up, like (Alan) Shearer.

“I also used to enjoy watching Teddy Sheringham (for England) growing up and I used to watch Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke for Manchester United, but can’t really remember Andy Cole at Newcastle – I was too young.

“I just want to do my best for the team. I will work hard on the training ground and hopefully do what I can to the best of my ability. The rest will take care of itself.”

After being released by Arsenal at the age of 12, Gayle went on to make a name for himself in non-league circles with Stansted, Dagenham & Redbridge and Bishop’s Stortford before moving to Peterborough in 2012. His fine goal return for Posh earned him a £4.5m switch to Selhurst Park a year later in the Premier League.

The young man from Walthamstow, however, faces a different challenge, having decided to uproot north for the first time after being attracted by the chance to play under a Champions League winning manager like Benitez.

He said: “It is a life changing move for me, coming up here. I am looking forward to it. It will be a tough season, 46 games, but it will be an enjoyable experience and hopefully it will improve me as a person as much as player.

“My agent came to me. He said Newcastle were interested. Rafael Benitez was the manager and I spoke to a few ex-players who told me how good of a manager he was to work under and how good a coach he is.

“That drew me to the club and obviously I know how big the club is and how mad people are about the football up here. It was a no-brainer for me. Maybe there was a little bit at the back of my mind about dropping back down to the Championship, but I was adamant I was coming here. It was the only club for me to join.”

Ritchie has also had to drop down from the Premier League, having worked so hard to climb to that level over the years. The former Portsmouth, Swindon and Bournemouth winger, however, does not intend to stay out of the top-flight for long – and is being backed by his Newcastle supporting father-in-law.

Ritchie, 25, said: "He lives down south, but he's still got his accent because he’s from up here. He's got friends up here who are big Newcastle fans. He's excited for the future. I don’t think he’s as excited as me though! He's a Newcastle fan. He's not a season-ticket holder, but he's always been a fan.

"When I told him it was happening he just said about the fans and how passionate they are. I knew that anyway because I played here last season and as a kid growing up watching people like Shearer. I've always known that Newcastle's a huge club. When I knew they were interested, it lit my eyes up. It was something I wanted to do.”