Opinion: West Brom's crucial deal would prove Moore is the complete manager

Newcastle are set to finalise a season-long loan deal for West Brom striker Salomon Rondon, with the Magpies’ striker Dwight Gayle going the other way, according to The Daily Mail.

What’s the story?

With Sky Sports reporting that Aleksandar Mitrovic is in London to finalise his £22m move to Fulham, Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez will finally be able to complete a deal for the Serbian striker’s replacement, Salomon Rondon.

The 28-year-old netted seven goals and provided three assists last season as West Brom were relegated from the Premier League. While these may not be the most amazing numbers, Rondon also acts as a crucial focal point for his side and is able to bully defenders to hold the ball up – exactly what Benitez is looking for from his main man.

For Dwight Gayle though, it looks as though his career at St James’ Park could be over, or at least will be for the next year or so. The pacy striker made 35 appearances in the Premier League last season, scoring six goals in the process, but the arrival of Yoshinori Muto for £9.5m will push him down the pecking order even further.

Who’s getting the better deal?

Despite the process being instigated by Newcastle, if West Brom boss Darren Moore is able to secure the signing of Gayle in return for Rondon it could be a fantastic piece of business from the man who many questioned about making the jump from being a coach to a manager.

Gayle almost guarantees goals in the Championship, having scored 13 for a struggling Peterborough side in 2012/13 and a massive 23 in 32 games for Newcastle in 2016/17 as they were promoted to the Premier League.

Rondon departing the club would mean that West Brom’s striking options would be limited to just Hal Robson-Kanu and Jay Rodriguez. Whilst the big Venezuelan striker has been a great servant to the Baggies, Gayle could be the man needed to fire them straight back up to the Premier League at the first attempt.

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/2AsKg4e