Salomon Rondon deal nearing completion

Newcastle United has had another very quiet transfer window. Nothing much going on, and transfer rumors are flying all over the place you can never be sure which ones to put your money on. But the Salomon Rondon rumor has certainly been gaining traction, and according to the Gazette, Newcastle is prepared to make a £16.5m bid for the West Brom striker.

Yay! Money being spent; bids being placed; Benitez signing a new contract — hold off on that one.

It’s a nice tune to hear. But not when the striker has never broken the ten goal mark. While it was a different time, Newcastle United was getting a proven legend when they broke the transfer record to sign Michael Owen. And while he was not the best in black and white, it was initially a strong signing, and had decent payoffs. This was right before Newcastle made a deal to sell the club to Mike Ashley.

But Rondon, despite being part of an inefficient offense, was never a spark for his team. But he has the one thing that Rafa Benitez is looking for, and it’s that he’s a hard worker.

Rafa Benitez can turn a mediocre stats player into Cristiano Ronaldo if their work rate is good enough, and Rondon has proven that. But I still have to say that if the club is shelling out big money for a player, I’d rather sign Nacer Chadli.

But the big news is that it sounds like funds have been made somewhat available to Benitez. Even if it’s for what will likely turn out to be another stopgap striker.