West Ham United have moved on from their attempts to sign West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon, according to The Chronicle.
The newspaper claims that the Hammers are interested in the 6ft 1 Venezuelan [Source: Transfermarkt], as are their Premier League rivals Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
However, the Magpies have long had concerns over the £16.5million cost of a player who will be 30 years of age in September, and it appears that that has filtered through to the other two teams as well.
West Ham and Wolves are both now thought to be hesitant to pay what it would cost to sign Rondon given his age, with the Hammers having moved onto other targets.
OPINION
It’s no surprise that this is now the case for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, but you have to wonder why it took them so long to figure out that Rondon is pretty expensive for his age. We’ve known for a long time now that the Venezuelan has a £16.5million release clause, while his age is no secret. But it’s only now that West Ham and Wolves are hesitant about paying the money for him? That seems a bit strange, doesn’t it? Ultimately, Rondon has never seemed to be the Hammers’ number one striking choice. Maxi Gomez is a long-term target, while the names of people like Aleksandr Mitrovic and Moussa Marega have been mentioned as well. Rondon is a proven Premier League frontman, of course, but he is just a few months away from his thirties. You’d have to say, though, that if the club can’t secure any of their other centre forward targets then Rondon would be a decent alternative despite the concerns over his age.
