Rumoured West Ham United target Salomon Rondon is the subject of shock interest from a surprise club, according to a report from Sky Sports.
Eye-catching name Dalian Yifang of the Chinese Super League are the team and they want to bring another big name in the form of the Venezuela star to Asian football.
This could be something to do with the arrival of former Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez at the Dalian Sports Centre Stadium earlier in the month.
Rondon, of Slaven Bilic’s Sky Bet Championship outfit West Bromwich Albion, spent last season under the stewardship of the Spaniard on loan at St. James’ Park.
He impressed his manager highly in the northeast with his highest-ever Premier League goals tally of 11 in a single season and undoubtedly deserves to stay at the top level with the Baggies unable to secure promotion back to the big time in 2018/2019.
Rondon’s release clause at the Hawthorns is believed to be £16m and given the money floating around in Chinese football it’s not hard to see Dalian meeting it with ease for Benitez’s first signing.
This comes after Manuel Pellegrini saw a bid of £10m plus two players believed to be Sam Byram and Jordan Hugill rejected by the Baggies.
Last week The Mirror claimed that the undeterred Irons are now preparing a second bid for the 29-year-old who has only a year left on his current West Brom contract – £12m plus bonuses.
The speculation linking Rondon with a move to an entirely different continent is bad news for West Ham.
Marko Arnautovic, Lucas Perez, Andy Carroll and Antonio Martinez have all left the club in the summer transfer window, leaving Javier Hernandez and Jordan Hugill as their only options up front.
Even if a club-record deal is secured for the bright Maxi Gomez, Pellegrini still needs a different option up front and Rondon would more than provide that without costing the world.
