Are Arsenal and Chelsea both fighting a £20m losing battle?

By now even the most ardent Arsenal fan must have lost touch with the number of strikers their club has been linked to. You can take your pick from the likes of Olivier Giroud, Roberto Soldado, Daniel Sturridge, Demba Ba, Fernando Llorente and many more. The Press seem to be attempting to bypass their lack of knowledge concerning Robin Van Persie’s future by throwing as many names into the pipeline as possible. That’s why Arsenal are being linked to no-hopers like Salomon Kalou and Seydou Doumbia.

And here’s the latest player we can add to that list: Malaga’s star striker Salomon Rondon. According to the Daily Mail both Chelsea and Newcastle are thought to be interested. According to the same source, cash-rich Malaga would consider selling for around £20m.

The 22-year-old Venezualan footballer is very much viewed as one for the future having scored 25 goals in 67 La Liga appearances. He first rose to prominence for the Venezuelan Under-20s in the 2009 FIFA World Cup, where he scored four times during the competition.

During his time at Malaga he’s outshone the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy (who admittedly wasn’t the player he used to be) and established himself as a fan favourite. He’s renowned as something of an all-rounder. He’s got great movement, is strong in the air and confident on the ball and he knows where the goal is.

The £20m price-tag is likely to put off the likes of Newcastle who have been getting their signings on the cheap since Alan Pardew took over. Arsenal, too are not renowned for spending a lot of money. Whilst Arsene Wenger is always ready to sign a young talent, he doesn’t like to spend big on players who aren’t already fully-formed (unless their Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain). I just can’t see Arsenal splashing the cash on a player like Rondon when so much is at stake for them next season.

Chelsea are the only side who can realistically afford to pay out that kind of money for a player who remains unproven at a top club. But it seems to me as though they’ve got bigger fish to fry. But they’re chasing players like FC Porto’s Hulk.

£20m is just too high an evaluation for a player of Rondon’s stature. Given the state of Malaga’s finances, the club is clearly in no rush to sell. It could well be, however, that the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea are dodging a bullet here.

What’s your take? Am I underrating Salomon Rondon? Should Arsenal and Chelsea look elsewhere?

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