José Salomón Rondón, the Venezuelan striker and currently a player for Newcastle United (loaned fro West Brom) has reportedly been a transfer target for West Ham, who need to act quickly, as they are not the only club that has noticed the potential Rondon has, which is surely undervalued at 15 million €.
12th May 2019, Craven Cottage, London, England; EPL Premier League football, Fulham versus Newcastle United; Jose Salomon Rondon of Newcastle United celebrates as he scores for 0-4 in the 90th minute (photo by Shaun Brooks/Action Plus via Getty Images)
José Salomón Rondón is a 29-year-old Venezuelan striker, who started off his football career in 2008 in Venezuela and slowly worked his way up. Proving he is an excellent striker in all the clubs he played in, Rondon was spotted by West Brom in 2015, who bought him from Zenit for 17 million €. Since he joined the Baggies, Rondon has accumulated 120 appearances for his club, meanwhile scoring 28 goals and adding 10 assists. While his numbers with West Brom are not really impressive, Rondon appeared on the radar of some bigger football clubs due to his incredible performance with Newcastle this season, a team he joined as a loanee in August of 2018. During his time at Newcastle, Rondon managed to score 11 goals and added 7 assists in the span of 33 appearances, however, there is much more to him than just the plain numbers. His vision and high work rate both played a big part in his recognition among other football clubs.
After a great season with Newcastle, which earned Rondon the 9th place on the best goal scorer table in the Premier League, it should not come off as a surprise his talent and eye for goals did not go unnoticed. Reports suggest that West Ham are the main candidates to add the striker to their squad, but despite the fact that he has been a transfer target for West Ham for a while, the Hammers are not the only team keen on signing the striker. As it was reported, Rondon has appeared on shortlist of Fenerbahce and Wolves among other big clubs, who would all accept the Venezuelan striker with open arms.
What makes this striker even more appealing for other clubs that are interested in his skill, is the fact that he is priced at only 15 million €, which is by no means a lot of money for a player who can score 11 times in the Premier League. Considering Rondon has alerted many other clubs who will surely pursue him in the transfer window, West Ham needs to act quickly and do the necessary to bring him to the team.
Not only will the decision to accelerate the transfer of Rondon be beneficial in a way that it would prevent other clubs from “stealing” him, but it would also provide Rondon with a chance to adapt in the team, as he could join West Ham in the pre-season tour. While this is surely something West Ham are aware of, the whole process of acquiring Rondon seems a bit slow, which makes us rethink if the Hammers are really 100% determined to bring him to the team. If that is not the case, they should really start thinking about alternatives, as I do not believe Rondon will stay at West Brom, not after his exceptional campaign at St James’ Park.
Talking about alternatives and about a plan B for West Ham, there have been no official announcements about particular players that could join the team if Rondon decides to stay or join another club. That on its own could be a huge problem for West Ham, as we have seen before how a team can struggle if they do not have a strong striker. Just look at Everton, who are not the same since Lukaku left and they failed to find a replacement. Will West Ham move quickly and acquire Rondon is something that is still under a big question, but with the transfers in full swing, we can expect to get more answers in the upcoming weeks.
