Newcastle Reportedly Targeting West Brom Striker and Willing to Meet £16.5m Transfer Clause
Newcastle United are reportedly targeting a move for striker Salomon Rondon from relegated West Brom, who has a has a £16.5m clause in his contract.
The 28-year-old Venezuelan international has been linked with a move to the Magpies a number of times in recent years.
According to the Birmingham Mail, Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez is apparently interested in getting a striker this summer and is willing to meet that clause.
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Newcastle are looking to continue to improve their first team squad this summer after securing Premier League safety relatively comfortably by finishing 10th last season.
Despite his impressive form on loan at Fulham, there is still a high chance Aleksandar Mitrovic will be allowed to leave this summer, and Benitez will be looking for a strong target man to replace him.
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Benitez is known to have a wealth of targets in mind for every position, but given the lack of goals that Newcastle struggled with for much of last season, improvements to the striking department are likely to be one of the highest priorities this summer.
Rondon scored 10 goals in all competitions for West Brom last season, the same amount as Magpies top goalscorer Ayoze Perez managed in the same period.
The Caracas-born striker has scored 19 goals in 66 senior international appearances for Venezuela.
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Rondon is in high demand following West Brom's relegation to the Championship, with both West Ham and Cardiff reportedly interested in the forward.
West Ham's new boss Manuel Pellegrini worked with the Venezuelan previously when the pair were at Malaga.
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Back in January, both Tottenham and Chelsea were interested in the forward and are reportedly still keeping tabs on him - though a move to one of those clubs looks very unlikely at this time.
The striker's wages are also understood to be a potential stumbling block for any move to Cardiff, with the Welsh club also looking at Watford's Andre Gray as an alternative.
