West Ham United’s priority in the transfer market is to buy a striker, following the departure and the impending departure of many of their strikers. The Hammers have shortlisted West Bromwich Albion’s Salomon Rondon who is their No. 1 target, but the London club had a £10 million bid for the forward rejected a few days ago.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini is desperate to sign the striker, who was on loan at Newcastle United last year, and has returned with a bid of £14 million for the 29-year-old, as well as added West Ham defender Sam Byram in the deal. Football Insider and Football League World have reported that the Hammers are the front-runners in the race to sign Rondon, following the managerial troubles at Newcastle United, who were keen on bringing Rondon back to St James’ Park.
Byram joined the London club in 2016 from Leeds United, but has found opportunities difficult to come by, and was even loaned to Nottingham Forest last season. West Brom’s new manager is former West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, who had signed Byram when he was the manager of the London club which might help facilitate the deal from the Hammers’ point of view.
A good move by Pellegrini?
The move to sign Salomon Rondon is a very good one as he is a proven goalscorer and has Premier League experience, while also being available at a reasonable price. Rondon scored 12 goals in all competitions for goal-shy Newcastle last year and was the side’s second-highest scorer of the season.
The Hammers need to sign a striker soon as several of their strikers are set to leave, while a few from last season’s squad have left. Marko Arnautovic has put in a transfer request to push through a move to China, while the future of Javier Hernandez is also uncertain. The Hammers’ other two strikers from last season, Lucas Perez and Andy Carroll have also left the club, which leaves them with no other options up front.
Adding Byram to the deal makes sense as West Ham already have two other options at right back – the experienced Pablo Zabaleta and Ryan Fredericks, who was excellent for the London club last season. With West Brom keen on selling Rondon, the Hammers must secure the deal soon and strengthen their squad further in the coming weeks.