With less than a month left before the Premier League transfer window closes, it’s time for the clubs to make their move(s). The World Cup sort of delayed things but now that the quadrennial event is done, expect a lot of transfers to make the news.
One of the cubs who have been pretty inactive so far are Newcastle United. The club have managed to sign Martin Dubravka and Ki Sung-Yeung and kept Kenedy on loan, but that’s it.
Now, latest reports indicate that the Magpies are interested in signing West Brom forward Salomon Rondon. Following their relegation from the Premier League, quite a few prominent players are expected to leave the Baggies. Their squad does have a few good players and Rondon is one of them.
Rondon – What will he add to Newcastle?
Last season, Rondon managed a paltry goal-return of seven strikes. In fact, he has never been able to reach the double-digit mark since his move to England from Zenit and that’s a worrying factor for the Newcastle fans.
His best return for West Brom was nine goals and two assists which he managed in the 2015/16 Premier League season.
Newcastle need a striker who can score at least 15 goals a season. Last season, good performances at the back helped the club keep their top-flight status. Rafa Benitez made good use of his resources but needs to be backed with the funds to sign more quality players.
Aleksandar Mitrovic’s future still hasn’t been settled as Fulham are ready to pay £20million for the Serbian. Rondon, in terms of style, is pretty similar to Mitrovic. He has more experience of course, but after what Mitrovic managed with Fulham, it’d be unwise to get rid of him as he has the quality to deliver if played in the right system.
Benitez has refrained from building a system around someone as temperamental as Mitrovic and you can’t begrudge him for that. But the forward is still very young and could play a role in the coming years if he is slowly integrated into the team.
Rondon is might not have that incredible burst of pace but his hold up play is pretty good and with fast wingers in the team, he could be useful on the break and used as a target-man.