Following the £10 million capture of Brown Ideye last summer, West Bromwich Albion broke their club record transfer fee for the second year running with the arrival of Zenit St Petersburg forward Salomon Rondon in a £12 million deal. The Venezuelan striker – who was ineligible to face Man City on Monday – expressed an eagerness to get out on the pitch and showcase his talents:
“I am very happy to be here. This is a new opportunity in my career. I can’t wait to be with the other players and to play. The club showed a lot of interest in me, that’s what is important for a player, what you take into account, and there are expectations of me.”
The History
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Rondon started out a couple of local amateur clubs, before teaming up with Venezuelan first division side Aragua in 2005. He made his debut at the age of 17 during the 2006/07 season and went on to notch seven goals in 21 outings. Following another successful campaign that harvested eight goals in 28 appearances, Rondon was recruited by Segunda Division outfit Las Palmas in the summer of 2008.
The forward failed to net in ten appearances during his debut term with the Yellows but found his groove in the 2009/10 season, tallying 10 goals in 36 outings. He subsequently moved up a tier and signed for La Liga club Malaga, where he would set a new record for goals scored (14) by a Venezuelan in the top flight of Spanish football. Rondon also ended his second term with the Anchovies as the club’s top scorer (ten) while notching four assists, resulting in a transfer to Rubin Kazan in August 2012.
Rondon played 25 out of a possible 30 league ties in the 2012/13 Russian Premier League campaign, chalking up seven goals and one assist. He started the first nine matches the following season – recording five goals and one assist – before a metatarsal fracture ruled him out for two months.
He then made the switch to Zenit on his return from the treatment room, registering eight goals and three assists across 12 outings. The previous campaign proved to his most profitable yet, with 13 goals and three assists arriving in just 26 appearances (1515 minutes).
After making his international debut in a friendly against Haiti back in 2008, Rondon has since racked up 13 goals in 38 appearances for the Venezuela senior team. The 25-year-old frontman started all of the Plainsmen’s group matches in this summer’s Copa America, netting against Colombia in their tournament opener.
The Prospects
Rondon’s arrival places further question marks over Sadio Berahino’s future at the club, with the youngster continuing to be linked with a move to Tottenham. With Rickie Lambert also in the mix, it remains to be seen what Pulis’ plans are for the season ahead, though the Baggies boss is expected to mainly favour a two-man frontline once again. Certainly, Pulis has been quick to admit both Victor Anichebe and Ideye may be on their way out as he reshuffles his striker options.
After Monday’s home defeat against City, though, Pulis did concede he’d made a mistake starting with two up top and it’s likely that, when up against more dominant sides, the Baggies boss will revert to a lone striker system in an attempt to stifle the opposition.
Although Berahino and Lambert are proven goalscorers that each bring something unique to the striker table, neither possess the balance of physicality and pace that renders Rondon such a strong fit for the centre forward role. Measuring in at six foot three inches tall and boasting a muscular frame, Rondon is the obvious selection to spearhead West Brom’s attack when they’re forced to sit deep, which would see Berahino shifted to the flank on occasion.
Combing through the underlying statistics, Rondon’s goal frequency last term (one every 116 minutes) underlines his finishing prowess – only Sergio Aguero (101.6), Diego Costa (106.7) and Papiss Cisse (112.5) bettered him in that regard. Furthermore, Rondon’s shot conversion rate (25.4%) would’ve ranked second only to Costa (26.3%) – far surpassing the efforts of Berahino (16.3%) and Lambert (10.5%).
Coming in at a relatively lofty 7.0 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, Rondon’s arrival may ultimately dent Lambert’s Fantasy prospects – the latter was expected to be handed spot-kick duties ahead of Berahino but may not be as nailed-on as we had hoped. With doubts over Rondon’s fitness ahead of the weekend trip to Watford, though, and a clash with Chelsea in Gameweek 3, many will be happy to steer clear for now and look for signs of consistency in Pulis’ selection. Having scored just 19 goals in as many league matches since the Welshman took the helm, it’s debatable whether the Baggies frontline will afford us a viable option, with most of our interest focused on Pulis’ defensive options instead.
