£10m former West Brom and Newcastle striker released by League One side as ex-Aston Villa midfielder also let go

Former West Brom striker Dwight Gale has been released by Derby County - just three months after arriving at Pride Park on a short-term deal.

Rams boss Paul Warne has decided not to include the former £10m frontman in his plans as he puts in place preparations for Derby’s Championship return. 

Gayle, 34, is one of six players to be let go by the League One runners-up, with former Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane also set to exit Pride Park upon the expiry of his contract. They’re joined by goalkeeper Scott Loach, midfielder Korey Smith, striker Martyn Waghorn and goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith in the retained list made public by Derby on Saturday.

Hourihane has spent the past two seasons at Pride following his Villa departure in 2022. The 33-year-old made 98 appearances for the Rams in that time, scoring 12 goals. The Irishman played 47 games in all competitions this season as he helped Warne secure promotion back to the Championship behind League One winners Portsmouth.

The midfielder featured more than 160 times for Villa following his move from Barnsley for an undisclosed fee in 2017. He helped the Villans win promotion back to the Premier League in 2019 via the play-offs, before spending loan spells at Swansea and Sheffield United respectively.

Gayle contributed three goals in six appearances for the Rams after arriving from Stoke on a free transfer in February. However, he missed Derby’s final seven games of the season with a hamstring injury.

The striker bagged 23 Championship goals for the Baggies during his loan spell from Newcastle during the 2018-19 season. That meant he finished that campaign as WBA’s top scorer as they finished fourth and were knocked out of the play-offs by Villa.