West Bromwich Albion: Three hopes, one fear

By Sean Maslin | Sep 19, 2016

WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28: West Brom mascot Baggie Bird poses for a photo with young fans prior to the Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough at The Hawthorns on August 28, 2016 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /

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WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND – AUGUST 28: Salomon Rondon of West Bromwich Albion during the Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough at The Hawthorns on August 28, 2016 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Sam Bagnall – AMA/WBA FC via Getty Images) /

Hope #1: That Salomon Rondon has finally solved his scoring woes.

Baggie supporters were greeted with a rare sight on matchday one this season: a Salomon Rondon goal. After a difficult 2015-2016 campaign in which he scored just nine goals, the Ecuadorean international kicked off the new season the right way with a strike in the 79th minute that lifted his side past Crystal Palace.

WBA need more of that from Rondon. The Baggies scored just 34 goals last season which was second lowest among all Premier League sides. Even Newcastle, who were relegated, were able to score ten more goals than Albion. If they are to stay up this season then they need to score more than 34 goals and they need to get more out of Rondon.

The club did attempt to ease the load off of Rondon this offseason with the acquisition of midfielder Nacer Chadli. Chadli isn’t exactly a prolific goal-scorer (he scored just three goals last season in the Premier League) but he has shown that he can create opportunities for others. His passes into space and crosses are some of the best in the Premier League and should help Rondon out in getting space into the box to work with.

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