DWIGHT GAYLE will still be the key-man if Newcastle United decide to pursue a permanent deal for Salomon Rondon this summer.

Rondon has told the Magpies that he would love to stay at St James’ Park on a full-time basis at the end of his season-long loan.

Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez would also like him to stay but knows it might not be as simple as that because of the finances involved.

Rondon turns 30 in September and Newcastle will be reluctant to spend more than what they feel is justified for a player of his age, regardless of his quality.

Newcastle resisted paying £16.5m last summer for him and in the end had to strike a loan deal, but they also know he still has a further year on his contract so West Brom will still command a sizeable fee.

Rondon has impressed at Newcastle, scoring seven Premier League goals and has been involved in 11. His performances, leading the line like a top-flight centre-forward should, will have attracted interest from other clubs too.

Newcastle, who are focused primarily on staying in the Premier League first before addressing contract situations for Benitez and his players, do have the leverage of being able to talk to the Baggies about Gayle.

Gayle is under contract at Newcastle in 2021 and is valued at slightly more than Rondon, and he has also impressed at the Hawthorns. The former Crystal Palace man has scored 16 goals for Darren Moore’s team and is attacking versatility has seen him play a couple of roles.

West Brom, in the midst of a Championship promotion battle, will not know how much money they have to spend until they know what division they are in next season.

But Gayle – who has indicated that he wants to wait until the summer before deciding his future - is an option for West Brom and the first option is to discuss a swap deal involving the two strikers.

Even though Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, is still willing to listen to offers for the club, he is hoping to make progress on Benitez’s contract situation in the weeks ahead.

And one man who is not expected to stay at St James’ beyond this season is full-back Antonio Barreca. The Italian, who was signed as back-up anyway, has only appeared for four minutes since arriving on loan from Monaco.

He is currently behind Matt Ritchie, Paul Dummett and Javier Manquillo in the pecking order and has not been involved at all in the last few games.

Newcastle are not expected to pay the £8m agreed fee to turn his loan into a permanent switch and, while there is still time for him to make an impression, it would be a major surprise if he stayed.

Barreca was never Benitez’s preferred left-back choice, that was Belgian Jordan Lukaku whose move broke down at the last moment.