The 28-year-old started at the Hawthorns and it was his quickfire brace which put the Baggies in command, as his volley and neat finish gave the hosts a two-goal lead with little over half an hour played.

Jay Rodriguez made it 3-0 before the break and then, with 20 minutes left, Magpies loanee Gayle rounded off his treble with a fine strike, rendering Josh Ginnelly’s last-minute consolation worthless.

That means Gayle is now on 21 Championship goals for the campaign, with West Brom fourth in the table and nine points off an automatic promotion spot.

Fellow United loanee Jacob Murphy was an unused substitute for Jimmy Shan’s men.

Elsewhere in the Championship, Jack Colback played the full 90 minutes for Nottingham Forest as they were beaten 2-1 by Blackburn Rovers at the City Ground.

And Achraf Lazaar was an unused substitute during Sheffield Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat at Leeds United, with Rolando Aarons missing out on a place in the squad.

But Dan Barlaser’s Accrington Stanley fared better in League One, as John Coleman’s men beat Walsall 2-1 at the Wham Stadium to ease their relegation fears.

Midfielder Barlaser played the whole game while defender Liam Gibson wasn’t involved in the victory, which takes them four points clear of the drop zone.

In the National League, Josef Yarney picked up a yellow card before being replaced with just under 20 minutes remaining of Chesterfield’s 4-1 win over Maidstone United.

And in Turkey, Henri Saivet’s Bursaspor suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Trabzonspor, with the Senegalese international playing the full 90 minutes.