OPINION
With reports suggesting that Newcastle United’s move for West Brom striker Salomon Rondon has stalled, they must target their midfielder Nacer Chadli instead.
As reported by Sky Sports, Newcastle’s negotiations with West Brom for Rondon have stalled as the Midlands club won’t pay the wages of Dwight Gayle, who could be involved in the deal, and they won’t agree to buy the forward after his loan spell.
This stall is a good thing for Newcastle because now they can focus on getting the best West Brom player over to St. James Park and for a similar fee, in Nacer Chadli.
As reported by the Express & Star, Chadli is available for £17million this summer due to a release clause in his contract, which means you get a lot more bang for your buck with the Belgian than you ever could have with Rondon, who has a £16.5million clause according to the Express & Star.
The 28-year-old, who earns £60,000-per-week at WBA (Spotrac), is an attacking midfielder of the highest quality, who has been playing out of position in wide areas since he moved to the Hawthorns, but has still managed 6 goals and 5 assists in 38 appearances for the Albion.
With his previous club Tottenham, he played regularly just behind the striker, or deeper in midfield, and managed an impressive 25 goals and 16 assists in 119 games for the North London club.
He would make much more of an impact for the Toon next season than Rondon ever would have, has got just 28 goals in 120 appearances playing as a striker for the Midlands club, which is only a little bit better than Chadli’s record for Spurs as a midfielder.
For just £500,000 more, Rafael Benitez could get his hands on a goalscoring and assist making midfielder, who has exceptional quality from wide areas and will make the difference in tight games with a bit of quality. It’s a no-brainer.
