It’s not worth thinking about where Newcastle would be if Salomon Rondon didn’t arrive on loan.
Yet again, the striker was at the centre of the action on Saturday. His stunning free-kick put us 1-0 up going into half time. Who knew he could take set pieces like that before he arrived?!
Everything Rondon touches lately turns to gold. And everything good about Newcastle goes through him.
As the season begins to wind down, the talk about his future begins to intensify.
You’d struggle to find a Newcastle fan who doesn’t want to see the Venezuelan return to St James’ Park next season. His age is the issue for Mike Ashley, who doesn’t have a history of spending big money on players set to turn 30.
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But when you look at the numbers, it’s worrying how reliant we have become on the big number nine.
Rondon has contributed nearly half of our goals
His goal against Bournemouth was his 10th for the club, nine of which have come in the Premier League.
Rondon is our top scorer, ahead of Ayoze Perez who has six league goals.
However, it’s not just scoring that Rondon does. He’s also a creator.
When you look at the Premier League assist charts, the first Newcastle player to appear is that man again, Salomon Rondon.
The 29-year-old has provided five assists. That means he has been directly involved in 14 Premier League goals for Newcastle.
We’ve only scored 31 all season, so he has either scored or created 45% of our goals so far this season.
The numbers don’t lie. We need him to stay at the club.