NEWCASTLE UNITED will not be able to sign Salomon Rondon on a free transfer next summer after West Brom triggered a clause in the striker’s contract at the Hawthorns.

Rondon joined Newcastle on a season-long loan at the start of the month, and having made his Magpies debut off the substitutes’ bench in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham, the 28-year-old is in line for a maiden start in Saturday’s game at Cardiff City.

He has already expressed a desire to turn his temporary transfer into a permanent move at the end of the season, and earlier in the summer, it looked as though there was a chance of Newcastle signing him for nothing in 12 months’ time.

When Rondon joined West Brom from Zenit St Petersburg in the summer of 2015, he signed a four-year deal that was due to expire next June.

That would have meant him becoming a free agent at the end of his current loan deal, but prior to allowing the Venezuelan to move to the North-East, West Brom officials triggered an automatic one-year extension clause in Rondon’s contract.

That means he is now tied to the Hawthorns until the summer of 2020, so if Newcastle want to pursue a permanent transfer next summer, they will have to negotiate a price with the Baggies.

Much will depend on how Rondon performs over the next nine months, but if he has a successful season on Tyneside, there is every chance West Brom will seek as high a fee as possible in 12 months’ time. If the Black Country club were to win promotion to the Premier League, they could even opt to keep Rondon for the final year of his deal.

The situation is far from ideal from a Newcastle perspective, but is effectively the result of Mike Ashley’s refusal to trigger a £16.5m release clause in Rondon’s contract that would have paved the way for a permanent deal this summer.

By refusing to sign the striker on a permanent basis earlier this month, Newcastle have effectively left themselves hostages to fortune if Rondon impresses this season. On the opposite side of the coin, however, they will not be saddled with the South American on a long-term basis if he fails to impress.

Rondon’s arrival on Tyneside coincided with Dwight Gayle moving in the opposite direction, but the forward’s muscularity and aerial prowess mean he is more of more of a like-for-like replacement for Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Mitrovic joined Fulham in a £20m move earlier this summer, and claims that while the Cottagers play to his strengths, Newcastle failed to make the most of his attacking assets.

“In England, this (at Fulham) is the first time that I really feel comfortable in the system and in the way we play,” said Mitrovic, who will return to St James’ Park in a Fulham shirt on the weekend before Christmas.

“That (Fulham’s style) is my style of play, my strength – hold up, playing with my back to goal. Last season (while on loan), my team-mates used me in my best way.

“Now, players know me better, and they will try to stop me, but there will be more space for the other players. I think the manager and my team-mates all know my strengths and try to use them in the best way they can. The result was that I scored a lot of goals and we won games.”