Since arriving on loan, Salomon Rondon hasn’t had the best of times at Newcastle.
The forward has scored just one goal for the club, and that came in the Carabao Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest.
The Magpies have struggled for goals yet again this season, and Rondon is looking more like another Islam Slimani than an Alan Shearer.
On Saturday, Newcastle fell to another defeat, losing 1-0 to Brighton. Rafa Benitez started the game with diminutive duo Ayoze Perez and Yoshinori Muto up top, but it didn’t really work.
Despite constantly getting the ball into wide areas, Newcastle were unable to get on the score-sheet.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
Would Rondon have been the answer on Saturday?
Kenedy and Matt Ritchie were lively down both flanks, with Paul Dummett and DeAndre Yedlin also chipping in.
In total, Newcastle delivered 41 crosses against Brighton. Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk ate most of them up with ease.
Newcastle had no physical presence in the box, which made the crosses easy for Brighton to defend. By the time Joselu came on, it was too late, and the number of crosses decreased.
If Rondon had been fit on Saturday, things might have been different. The Venezuelan is a much more physical forward, and can really occupy a centre-back.
With that many crosses going into the box, surely Rondon could have tucked at least one away.
Instead, it was another defeat for the Geordies, who are now bottom of the Premier League.
