West Ham United are leading the race to sign West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon, according to the Northern Echo.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Hammers are in pole position to land the Venezuelan despite recent reports suggesting Mexican side Cruz Azul were interested in the 29-year-old.
The Northern Echo report that Manuel Pellegrini is now ready to push on in a bid to get Rondon after hearing that the former Newcastle loanee would prefer to stay in the Premier League.
West Brom reportedly have a £16.5million release clause regarding the striker, with West Ham being reported to have had a £10million plus player swap offer rejected by the Championship club.
OPINION
This comes as no real surprise that the Hammers are in the lead for Rondon. With the striker’s desire to remain in the Premier League being mixed in with the fact that Newcastle are currently managerless, all roads lead to the London Stadium. Reports have backed this up, with the Sun suggesting the Magpies will not pursue a deal for the 11-goal forward. With Pellegrini having already signed playmaker Pablo Fornals, Rondon would be the perfect addition as a lone striker due to his physicality and ability to hold up the ball. The 29-year-old delivered an impressive seven assists and won an average of 4.6 aerial battles per game [WhoScored]. That ability to dominate defences would see players such as Fornals and Felipe Anderson being introduced into the game more frequently in more dangerous areas. With West Ham reportedly ready to take advantage of Newcastle’s current manager saga, the Hammers could push to complete a deal in the next week or so – keep an eye on this one.
