Newcastle’s loan star is finding his feet at St. James’ Park and Benitez should sign him permanently

Why Newcastle United should sign Salomon Rondon permanently

According to the Chronicle, Newcastle are interested in securing a permanent move for on-loan striker Salomon Rondon after the Venezuelan scored his first league goal for the club last weekend against Bournemouth.

Salomon Rondon, 29, who joined Newcastle United on loan from Championship club West Brom in the summer transfer window, scored both goals in the Magpies’ 2-1 victory over Bournemouth at St. James’ Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

The win was a second consecutive win for Newcastle United and eases the pressure on manager Rafael Benitez, who had failed to lead his team to victory in 10 Premier League games before that. Following the game, Benitez praised Rondon’s performance and hinted that Newcastle are open to making the 29-year-old’s loan deal a permanent one.

Rondon arrived at Tyneside from West Brom on a season-long loan, with Dwight Gayle moving in the other direction. The Venezuelan endured a slow start to life at Tyneside as he has had to miss a number of games due to injury problems.

The 29-year-old has managed just eight appearances across all competitions for Newcastle United, scoring three times and supplying a single assist so far.

Three goals in eight appearances isn’t extraordinary for Rondon but his performance against Bournemouth was exactly what the Geordies faithful were waiting to watch from the big centre-forward.

It wasn’t just the goals which impressed Benitez and the fans, thanks to Rondon’s relentless work ethic and top hold-up play that made him a constant thorn for the Bournemouth defenders.

With his imposing physical presence and the ability to hold the ball up front, the 29-year-old constantly kept the Bournemouth defenders on their toes and brought his teammates into the game. At the same time, Rondon also made smart runs in behind the defenders that was so refreshing to watch.

It was the former Zenit St. Petersburg man’s presence in the box that allowed the likes of Kenedy and Matt Ritchie to put in crosses from out wide.

Rondon often got the better of the Bournemouth defenders and in doing so, he smashed a bullet header past Asmir Begovic for one of his two goals at St. James’ Park.

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Benitez has always preferred a powerful presence up front in his system and Rondon gave a glimpse of his quality. However, it’s too early to judge his performance based on one good game.

But if Rondon continues to deliver the goods consistently, a permanent move would be the right way to move forward for Benitez and Newcastle.