Ticks and crosses as Stoke City look to pull Dwight Gayle out of Newcastle Utd wilderness

There were 35 reasons why Stoke City were reminded of the importance of quality in the final third in their penultimate friendly of the summer.

Stoke put in 35 crosses against Bristol Rovers, mostly from Tom Sparrow, Liam McCarron and Josh Tymon – and that was before set pieces were counted.

There were some that sizzled through the six-yard box or bent invitingly into the opposition penalty area – but no one could supply the finishing touch. These are not high crosses designed for a Peter Crouch-like figure looming over defenders, but Tymon in particular had a knack of sending in low fizzbangers. There were also, admittedly, some that went straight into the stand or a defender.

Stoke have been working to help their forwards make the most of those opportunities that do land on the money, as well as on the second balls and ricochets.

Jacob Brown showed last season that he is becoming more instinctive in the penalty area. Tyrese Campbell is nearer the Ricardo Fuller end of the spectrum than a Peter Thorne poacher.

There is D’Margio Wright-Phillips, who has been used as a second striker through pre-season but has generally been at his best dropping deeper, and Emre Tezgel, who carries very high hopes but is still only fresh from high school

Now Dwight Gayle has re-emerged on the transfer radar. He is 32 and he’s been stuck around the fringes at Newcastle United for the last couple of seasons, so it will be interesting to see if he still has that habit of being able to find good scoring positions around the box. Those who have watched him most think that's his natural instinct, as well as being quick.

Newcastle legend and Chronicle columnist Malcolm Macdonald said this week: “He is a natural goalscorer, certainly at