Zenit St. Petersburg striker Salomon Rondon is on the radar of a slew of Premier League clubs, headlined by West Ham United, Aston Villa, and Newcastle United.
The 25-year-old Venezuelan is a scoring threat West Ham are very keen in, but face competition for his signature. AC Milan, Inter Milan and Everton were among other clubs interested, but West Ham, Aston Villa, and Newcastle are leading the race after no progress was made with the Italian clubs or Everton.
With both Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll out until at least October, another forward is desperately needed in East London.
Rondon boasts an impressive scoring tally at every club he has played for. Most recently in Russia with Zenit, Rondon helped win the Russian League with 20 goals in 25 League appearances.
Rondon’s agent confirmed there are a number of proposals for his client, according to Russian news outlet Championat. Rondon previously played for Manuel Pellegrini at Malaga, so there may be an appeal for the Venezuelan international forward to make the switch to the Premier League as well. Rondon scored 25 goals in 57 appearances under Pellegrini.
West Ham have targeted Mexicans Javier Hernandez and Raul Jimenez, the latter possible as a loan deal, as well. Hull City forward Nikica Jelavic has also garnered interest from the Hammers.
West Ham take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday with pressure mounting to bring in another striker.
