Following Aleksandar Mitrovic’s departure from the club, Newcastle have been on the hunt to find strikers who can fill the void.
Former Mainz striker Yoshinori Muto was brought in to cover for the loss of the Serbian striker.
Not content with the Japanese international as the club’s main striker, Mike Ashley has been looking for another forward who can help keep the Magpies in the league.
Much to the delight of Rafa Benitez and probably many Newcastle fans, Newcastle have now announced the signing of Venezuelan international Salomon Rondon on loan from West Brom.
The forward will join the club on a season-long loan deal with Dwight Gayle going to the Championship club, also on loan.
The Breakdown
Rondon has never been a consistent goal scorer, his record tally in the league being nine. However, the forward is a physical presence up front and will definitely work from the front for Benitez.
He will come in straight away and fill the void left by Mitrovic but, if truth be told, Ashley’s transfer business has been more replacing players rather than building on the squad - it has hardly been ambitious.
With Gayle and Mitrovic gone, Muto and Rondon will come into replace them – a strategy of filling the holes left rather than laying any solid foundations on them.
While it will come as a relief that the club have signed an experienced Premier League striker, it’s probably not the kind of investment Benitez would’ve been expecting at the beginning of the summer.
Newcastle fans... what do you think? Let us know!