West Ham United appear likely to miss out on yet another potential deal as target Salomon Rondon tells friends he wants to secure a permanent move to Newcastle United.
The West Bromwich Albion striker is available for £16.5m from the Championship club this summer, after an impressive campaign at St. James' Park.
Following the departures of both Andy Carroll and Lucas Perez, as well as doubt over the futures of Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez, West Ham are unsurprisingly desperate to strengthen up front, but according to the Mirror (via HITC), Rondon will not be the man to add that number needed firepower.
So far though, they haven't had much luck with a number of other targets looking likely to make moves elsewhere.
The Mirror reports that Celta Vigo's powerful Uruguayan attacker Maxi Gomez would prefer a move to Champions League side Valencia, while Real Betis are in pursuit of Fulham target man Aleksandar Mitrovic.
And after having his most prolific Premier League campaign at St. James' Park last season - scoring 11 goals - it come as no surprise that Benitez is keen to keep hold of Rondon.
This along with the player's reported personal desire for a move back up to Teeside leaves West Ham as a back-up option for the 29-year-old Venezuelan.
However, the Hammers shouldn't give up hope of a potential deal just yet considering the current situation at Newcastle.
Owner Mike Ashley has received his fair share of criticism from supporters for the lack of funding he provides during transfer windows.
With a rumoured takeover by Sheikh Khalid bin Zayed Al Nahyan still some way from reaching its completion, Ashley will seemingly be set to conduct all transfer related matters this summer.
Source : 90min