Newcastle United has announced the signing of Salomon Rondon on a season-long loan, with Dwight Gayle joining West Brom as part of the deal.
Rondon was initially expected to join Newcastle on a permanent deal but will instead spend the 2018-19 campaign on loan at the club, with Gayle's switch under the same terms.
The Venezuela international, who hit seven goals last term as West Brom were relegated to the Championship, has been handed the number nine shirt previously worn by club legend Alan Shearer.
"It's an honour to be here and I'm excited to get started with my team-mates. The clubs were talking for a long time and now I'm focused on the season to help my team-mates to get the points to do well this season," Rondon said, adding, "It's one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League and I knew about the interest of the gaffer, so I'm happy to be here."
Rafael Benitez has made no secret of his frustration with Newcastle's lack of transfer deals, but Rondon joins fellow forward Yoshinori Muto and defender Fabian Schar at the club, as well as Ki Sung-yueng, Martin Dubravka and Kenedy.
"I am delighted to sign Salomon. When we were looking for options up front, we knew how important experience would be. Salomon has been in the Premier League for a while and he knows how demanding it is. He, together with Yoshinori Muto, will give us different options and will improve the competition between the strikers, which is always positive for the team," Benitez told Newcastle's official website.
Rondon's direct replacement at West Brom will be Gayle, who hit 23 goals to fire Newcastle to the Championship title in the 2016-17 season.
"This deal was in the best interests of both clubs," said Baggies head coach Darren Moore. "Dwight is a proven goalscorer in the Championship. He's quick and sharp off the back of defenders and I believe he will add to our goal threat."
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