News has emerged that Everton may be rivals for the permanent signature of Newcastle's on-loan hero Salomón Rondón, in a move that would outrage Magpies fans.

The Venezuela star was influential in helping the Toffees blow a two-goal lead on Tyneside a couple of weeks ago, and his performance caught the eye of many, including Everton boss Marco Silva. Indeed, according to the Daily Star, Silva could look to Rondón to lead their line next season, with recent signing Cenk Tosun not having the impact the club had hoped.

Fortunately, Rondón has publicly stated his preference is to stay at St James' Park, but sadly for fans, that decision may be taken out of his hands.

Losing their new number nine would not go down well with the Geordie faithful, and they would point to another failure by director, Lee Charnley, to secure a deal that looked straightforward on paper.

Newcastle tried, and failed, with a last-ditch attempt on deadline day in January to try to change Rondón's temporary move into a permanent one, leaving fans to question why it had not been tied up earlier, and why it proved so difficult.

The Tyneside club may rue their missed opportunity as the player's reputation continues to grow, and rival clubs now looking to capitalise on Charnley's bungling inability to bag his man.

It remains to be seen whether Ashley's apparent change of direction regarding incoming transfers --- forking out a large sum for Miguel Almirón and seemingly loosening his restriction on signing players over 25 --- will stay in place in the summer, but ensuring Rondón remains a Newcastle player in the long-term must be the club's top priority.

Age is just a number, and Ashley needs to remember that. The problem is, the only numbers the high street mogul seems to care about are pre-fixed with a pound sign and followed by a bunch of zeroes... preferably heading towards his own back pocket!

Failure to keep Rondón will signal a new low for Newcastle and will have fans again questioning the club's ambition and future direction.

What do you think Newcastle fans? Just how could Newcastle even contemplate losing Rondón to a Premier League rival? Let us know...