West Brom made contact over Salomon Rondon return in January – report
West Brom were interested in luring former striker Salomon Rondon back to The Hawthorns in January, according to the Daily Mail.
Sam Allardyce was on the look-out for a new forward in the winter transfer window after his side’s struggles in front of goal combined with the departure of Charlie Austin to QPR on loan.
Albion eventually settled on Mbaye Diagne and he has made a great start to life in the West Midlands, registering an assist on his debut v Fulham [January 30] and scoring the opener in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
However things could have turned differently had the Baggies brought in Rondon with the Daily Mail reporting that the Venezuelan drew ‘tentative interest’ from West Brom and Tottenham Hotspur in January.
The 32-year-old has been playing for Chinese outfit Dalian Professional since 2019 but with their league still suspended due to covid he was made available for loan.
Albion were keen but they were already in the latter stages of thrashing out a deal for Diagne and focused on completing that. Rondon has since joined up with Russian giants CSKA Moscow on a deal until the end of the season.
Proven and popular
This would surely have been a popular move among Albion supporters if a deal had been agreed.
Rondon scored 24 times in 104 Premier League appearances for West Brom before moving on loan to Newcastle United following the Baggies’ relegation in 2018.
He netted 11 in 32 league outings for the Magpies and was an impressive figure at the peak of the pitch, helping to hold the ball up and bring others into play.
His Albion goal-scoring record was not outstanding but given the lack of service into him it was still a respectable return and his Premier League experience could have proved vital for Big Sam’s survival push.
Rondon’s hat-trick of headers v Swansea City still lives long in the memory.
Diagne has made a solid start to his West Brom career but early signs suggest he is not as adept at protecting the ball against roughhouse defenders.
Time will tell but perhaps Albion should have made more of an effort to secure the services of a Premier League-proven striker.
In other West Brom news, Albion officials left perplexed by VAR incident v Manchester United.
Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Baggies and more.