West Brom and Newcastle United gave Everton major transfer envy | OneFootball

The Baggies and the Magpies got the best days out of Salomon Rondon, but the Toffees weren’t quite so lucky.

A forward who has been around the block in the English game is Salomon Rondon.

The Venezuelan international moved over to England in search of playing top-flight football, and he got his wish in 2015 when joining West Brom from Zenit St Petersburg.

The forward linked up at The Hawthorns for a reported fee of £12m, breaking the then club record in place.

Rondon would add a bullishness to forward lines, with his physicality and presence making him a handful to some of the top defenders in the division.

Following on from his stint in the Black Country, he would go onto have further spells in the Premier League at St James’ Park with Newcastle United, before rounding off his spell in the UK on Merseyside with Everton.

The forward is still going strong at the ripe age of 36, representing Real Oviedo in La Liga, on loan from native side Pachuca.

It’s safe to say that when in the top-flight, Rondon showed his qualities both in the blue, as well as black and white stripes.

But the Toffees may come away with a different feeling about the frontman’s time there, with Everton failing to see the better days that West Brom and Newcastle joyously received.

Salomon Rondon’s success for both West Brom and Newcastle United

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There was inevitably some concern at the beginning for West Brom supporters when Salomon Rondon signed on the dotted line, as he had never previously played in England, but Albion’s risk paid off as the frontman delivered in front of goal for the three seasons he was at The Hawthorns for.

Rondon's ability to settle in so quickly made him a fan favourite in the Black Country, as he rapidly became a fundamental player to the then Premier League outfit.

After recording nine goals in his debut term, Rondon followed it up with eight in the 2016-17 campaign as Albion consolidated their place in the top-flight under Tony Pulis.

But a difficult final season would ensue for Rondon at the club. There wouldn’t be a problem individually after his seven-goal return, but collectively, the Baggies were not good enough to survive and were relegated from the Championship – bringing an eight consecutive season stay in the big time to an end.

Over the three seasons, Rondon returned 28 goals in 120 appearances in all competitions, as well as finishing the club's top scorer in the Premier League for each term.

After proving his effectiveness at the top end of the English game, Rondon was seeking a route back into the Premier League, finally linking up with Newcastle United, on loan for the 2018-19 season that saw Dwight Gayle head the other way to The Hawthorns in a swap deal.

That would prove to be beneficial for both parties, as Gayle notched 24 goals in that second tier season and formed a fruitful partnership with Jay Rodriguez.

Back over in the North East, Rondon transitioned into a crowd pleaser when representing the famous black and white stripes, going on to score 12 goals in 33 games for the Magpies, who were at the time managed by Rafael Benitez.

That was enough to guide Newcastle to a 13th-placed finish, but after Benitez departed Newcastle to move to Dalian Professional, Rondon headed in the same direction, with the former Chinese outfit paying a reported £16.5m for his services.

Everton will look at West Brom and Newcastle United with envy over Salomon Rondon spell

Salomon Rondon would end up returning to the Premier League just two years later after spending a season at Dalian Professional and a separate campaign on loan at CSKA Moscow.

Rondon had only played 24 times over the two campaigns before his switch back to the top-flight, but a return of 13 goals was more than respectable and a positive sign that he could reignite himself on the Premier League stage.

Once again, he was also reuniting with Rafael Benitez at Goodison Park, hopeful of replicating his impressive top-flight displays with West Brom and Newcastle.

But for whatever reason, Rondon could just not rediscover that magic. In his opening season, he recorded just a single goal and assist from 20 league appearances, while no single attacking contribution in seven appearances the following term led to his contract being terminated mid-way through December 2022, bringing a horrid spell on Merseyside to an end.

It’s clear that Rondon’s lack of playing time after his Newcastle exit hampered the positive trajectory he had been on, with the forward just unable to get back to such high levels that he had previously reached.

Everton were right to think that Rondon’s partnership back with Benitez would work out, but it was a case of the frontman’s career spiralling into decline, with Rondon since representing the likes of River Plate, Pachuca and Real Oviedo – a farcry from his glory days in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, Everton didn’t manage to have Rondon in his prime and suffered badly because of it, but West Brom and Newcastle United supporters will have such big grins on their faces that they managed to see a classic number nine in his pomp do the business at the best level.