West Ham chairman David Sullivan is confident that the Hammers are leading the race to sign Salomon Rondon, according to The Daily Star.
Rondon has a £16.5 million release clause in his West Brom contract due to the club failing to win promotion to the Premier League and is now attracting interest from a whole host of top-flight clubs.
The 29-year-old scored 11 goals in the league last term and his performances have clearly not gone unnoticed.
Despite so much interest in his services, David Sullivan believes that the Hammers can offer the Venezuela international better personal terms and that they are the leading candidates to land the striker.
The player himself is said to be keen on a return to St. James’ but is not rushing into any decisions due to Rafa Benitez’ Newcastle future remaining unclear.
OPINION
Rondon would be a solid addition for the Hammers. He was terrific last term in the North East and it’s no wonder so many teams are after him. His hold-up play is second to none and the West Ham midfield could really feed off his work – the prospect of Rondon and Arnautovic up front is an exciting one. Despite David Sullivan believing that West Ham can offer him the best deal, Rondon is keen on moving back to Newcastle and the Hammers chairman must pull out all the stops to convince him that a move to the London Stadium is the best option. With that being said, there are question marks over Rafa Benitez’ future with Newcastle which could give West Ham great encouragement. A deal for Rondon could drag on during this window with so many options on the table – the striker doesn’t need to rush into any decisions because at £16.5 million he will not be short of offers from a host of clubs.