According to Chronicle Live, Everton are favourites to sign on-loan Newcastle United striker Salomon Rondon. As per Sportnation.bet, the Merseyside club is 3/1 favourites to sign the player, which might appear as a real cause of concern for the Magpies, who are also in the running to sign the Venezuela international permanently next summer.
Amidst a rather gloomy season for the Tyneside club, which might see them enter the battle for relegation by the end of this term, Rondon has been a silver lining for the Magpies. The 29-year-old has scored seven goals this season so far to keep Rafa Benitez’s side in contention to stay in the top flight. He has also been a decent team player and has dished out three assists for his teammates.
With the likes of Joselu and Ayoze Perez not being able to take their chances so far this season, the goals have dried up significantly for the Magpies. However, the addition of the West Bromwich Albion player, who arrived at St James Park last summer as the part of a swap loan deal, has been one of the wisest decisions taken by the club in a long time.
The Tyneside club has been struggling to provide their gaffer with the players he has demanded so far, which has not helped their cause by any means this season. Benitez, however, has worked around well with whatever resources he has at his disposal and Rondon has played a big part in his plans throughout the season.
According to the Northern Echo, the Baggies are ready to let their striker leave on a permanent basis next summer for the transfer fee of £16 million. In our opinion, this amount is justified in today’s transfer market given his impressive show for the Magpies this term.
However, this sum might be a bit too much to spend for a financially troubled outfit like Newcastle United and their Premier League rivals Everton might just have the upper hand when it comes to signing their desired transfer target.
Benitez is well aware of the fact that though he has done well to keep his side fighting in the top flight, he needs to upgrade the squad for the upcoming challenges. The permanent inclusion of Rondon can be a step in the right direction for the Spanish manager, and he should do everything in his power to restrict Everton from gazumping them and sign the in-demand striker next summer. However, as all things in life, easier said than done!
