According to a recent tweet by The Telegraph reporter Matt Law, as quoted by The Sun, Premier League giants Chelsea are said to have been offered the chance to complete a loan move for Venezuelan international striker Salomon Rondon from Chinese club Dalian Yifang on deadline day. The Pensioners are said to have turned down the offer owing to the fact that they didn’t want to make any desperate and thoughtless signings.
It has been suggested that the former West Brom and Newcastle United man wasn’t on Chelsea’s initial list of targets and that they turned him down mostly because the Blues’ chiefs felt that he wouldn’t necessarily improve the squad. Chelsea were forced to go through the whole debacle of getting their two-window transfer ban cut short, but ended making no new additions to their squad. Manager Frank Lampard has already expressed his disappointment on the matter as well, meaning that a summer shopping spree is likely incoming.
What Is Salomon Rondon’s Footballing Situation
The Venezuelan international striker has already turned 30, and wouldn’t have fit into the standard of players that Lampard currently has at his disposal. The big striker is plying his trade for Chinese Super League club Dalian Yifang Professional, where he’s bagged an impressive record of five goals and three assists from 12 appearances. Moreover, the attacker’s stock has been plummeting in recent months, owing to fact that he’s certainly been far from his best since the switch.
Despite these unflattering facts though, the striker is his national team’s all-time leading goalscorer and even has just under 150 appearances in Premier League football. He’s notched up an impressive 35 goals and 15 assists during his time in England, where he played for the likes of West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United. A veteran of over 80 caps for Venezuela, there’s no denying that the striker would be a prime target for many of England’s aspiring clubs.
Why Chelsea Have Done Well By Avoiding Rondon Signing
The resurgence of Tammy Abraham in an attacking position this season has come as a massive boon for Chelsea. Even though he’s had to play a lot of football since the start of the campaign, there’s enough reason for Blues’ fans to be excited about what’s to come from him. Adding a player like Rondon to the mix would not only deter the playing time that Abraham gets but would warrant a complete change in playing style from Lampard as well.
Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud haven’t been firing on all cylinders this term, but it’s undeniable that the duo are experienced international footballers who still have a lot to offer. While the Belgian is a regular with the national side, the Frenchman is a reigning world champion and is the first-choice striker for Didier Deschamps’ squad. In the presence of top quality individuals like this, bringing in a sub-standard footballer like Rondon to Stamford Bridge would ultimately defeat the purpose of Chelsea as a football club, and they’ve done a good job what would’ve been a disastrous transfer.
