Newcastle United’s decision to sign Salomon Rondon in the summer was one which evoked a familiar feeling of discontent with Mike Ashley’s transfer policy, but his recent outing against Bournemouth has radically shifted popular opinion.
When Rondon powered home Kenedy’s cross to double Newcastle’s advantage at St James’ Park one thought occurred to plenty of supporters: is this the man to save the club from inevitable doom?
Tyneside has hosted some of the most iconic number nines in English football history, and Rondon has been given the privilege of donning the prestigious number for the Magpies this season.
The early openings of the new campaign have seen Rondon work tirelessly at the spearhead of Newcastle’s attack in a desperate bid to recover possession for his side, but the sheer quality of the opposition which the club have been pitted against thus far have largely made his attacking quality redundant.
An excellent piece of hold-up play followed by a perfectly weighted ball into the path DeAndre Yedlin earned Rondon his first assist for the club against Manchester City on only his third Premier League appearance, but he had to wait until his seventh outing to break his goal scoring duck.
One quickly turned into two as Rondon announced himself to the St James’ faithful in a manner which suggests he possesses the clinical instinct which has been missing from their attacking play since they returned to the top-flight.
Short-term hype based on one-off performances is par for the course in football and Rondon is no exception to the rule.
BBC Sport pundit Guillem Balague has weighed in on Rafa Benitez’s position as Newcastle manager and exactly how long supporters can expect him to remain in the hot-seat. Meticulous consideration of his history in management and the peculiar dynamic between him and Mike Ashley, which sees two conflicting opinions on transfer policy providing a major obstacle to a new deal for the Spaniard, form the nucleus of the article.
However, Balague also weighed on on Rondon after his brace against Bournemouth, suggesting that Ashley’s tight-fisted approach may yet pay dividends.
‘Should Salomon Rondon – on a year’s loan from West Brom – continue to score for his new club then he may will dig them out of a hole, guarantee survival and once again Ashley will believe his approach has been vindicated.
‘With Gayle having gone in the opposite direction to the Baggies, the two clubs should be able to sit down and work out a deal to suit all parties.’
Based on the evidence of Rondon’s match-winning performance against the Cherries it is incredibly difficult to disagree with his verdict on the Venezuela international.
The presence of a goal scorer so often differentiates clubs who are destined for the club and those who can climb to safety, and Rondon might just represent the player to put Newcastle in the latter bracket.
Time will tell if Rondon simply enjoyed a one-off performance or if his impact is a sign of things to come, but Balague is certainly spot on to identify him as a player who could make all the difference this season.
Newcastle fans – thoughts? Let us know below!
