Malcolm Christie believes Derby County forward Dwight Gayle is one of the best strikers in League One.
Dwight Gayle scored his first goal for Derby County in unlikely fashion as the Rams secured a 3-0 victory over Port Vale on Saturday afternoon.
Ebou Adams whipped a beautifully curled cross into the box and Gayle rose highest to power his header past a despairing Connor Ripley.
Standing at just 5 foot 9, heading has never been the striker’s strong point, although he showed that he can score all types of goals if quality service is provided into the box.
In his full debut against Charlton Athletic, the veteran forward hardly touched the ball as little service was sent into him or lofted over the Addicks defence.
With the introduction of Joe Ward and Louie Sibley as wing-backs against Port Vale, though, Gayle was able to receive crosses into the box, quality service to feet and in-behind as Derby mixed up their attacking play to devastating effect.
In the absence of the injured James Collins, who is out till the end of March, many questioned whether the Rams could score goals required without him, but the veteran striker certainly had the answer to that question last time out.
Malcolm Christie thinks Dwight Gayle is one of the best in League One
Malcolm Christie is a former Derby striker who scored 35 goals in 127 appearances for the club.
Although that isn’t the most prolific record, he does know a thing or two about putting the ball in the back of the net.
Now, he’s claimed there is no one better than Gayle at finishing chances in League One after being impressed with his performance against Port Vale.
“He’s a different type of centre forward,” Christie told BBC Radio Derby. “You can play into his feet, he is good at holding the ball up but what worked on Saturday was the ball over the top. Not necessarily to him, but if you’ve got the ball over the top, you’ve got people running in behind; the midfielders, the wing backs.
“There’s no better player, certainly in League One when you think of finishers if that ball is flashing across the box that you’d want on the end of it is a Dwight Gayle kind of a finisher and he obviously showed that on Saturday.
“We’ve gotta hope that we can provide the ammunition for him because if you get the service into those sort of strikers, he will score the goals absolutely convinced about that.”
Gayle has to show he can score against the better sides
On Saturday, Derby came up against a very poor side in Port Vale who have the second-worst defensive record in the division – 57 goals conceded.
The Rams were expected to come away with victory from that game and did, while it was a bonus that Gayle scored.
Now, the former Newcastle United striker has to show he can score goals against better-quality sides in League One.
With fixtures against Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth on the horizon, Warne may rely on Gayle to produce a match-winning moment and he has to prove he can deliver in the big games.
Previously, he has fired Newcastle to the Championship title and scored goals in the Premier League, so there is no doubting his pedigree as a finisher.
He just has to turn up for Derby’s most crucial games of the season and if adequate service is fired into him, there is no reason why he won’t.