According to reports in the Midlands, Newcastle will have to give West Brom Dwight Gayle PLUS cash if we wish to sign Salomon Rondon on a permanent deal in the new year.
Given a fit and firing Dwight Gayle is probably worth £15m to a top Championship side like the Baggies, this is perhaps a reminder just how foolish Ashley was in refusing to pay Rondon’s £16.5m release clause over the summer.
He may be nearing his 30’s – meaning he never quite fit into Ashley’s tedious transfer model – but his impact on the team has been priceless in recent months.
Here’s a snippet from Midlands paper the Express & Star:
“The Magpies are unlikely to sign the 29-year-old outright while owner Mike Ashley is trying to sell the club, and they baulked at his £16.5million release clause in the summer, which has now timed out.
“But if they approach Albion with an offer to make Rondon’s loan swap with Gayle a permanent one, the Baggies will demand cash on top of the deal.”
Just like our pursuit of Miguel Almiron – with us needing to break our transfer record to sign him – you get the feeling any chance of us signing Rondon will pin on a takeover.
Ashley has never been willing to spend big or sign players nearing 30 for decent money, so it will take a real shift in approach for him to do a deal here.
That said, Rondon is proving that he fits in this side much more effectively than Dwight Gayle – so a part exchange which saw a small amount of money fo their way may just suit all parties.
Straight swap for Gale, take it or leave it
Austin(Quote)