After a stuttering start at St James' Park Salomon Rondon can power Newcastle United up the table if he is given the right service.
So says former Magpies striker Shola Ameobi, who believes the Venezuelan will be a key figure as Newcastle travel to Burnley on Monday night.
Hampered by a thigh injury, Rondon has made just five league starts since his summer move from West Bromwich Albion.
But after Rondon scored his first two goals for the club, including a powerful header, as Newcastle beat AFC Bournemouth 2-1 in their last outing, Ameobi thinks Rafael Benitez’s side are starting to get the full benefit from the striker's aerial power.
'Give him something to attack'
"For Newcastle to get the best out of Salomon Rondon, they need to do what they did very well in the last game - get the ball in the box, give him something to attack,” says Ameobi.
"If they can do that enough times, he will get enough chances to score goals."
"Clearly his strength is his aerial prowess. If you look at the goal he scored in the last home game, it was just a top-quality finish with his head.
"There’s his hold-up play, too. He’s a strong guy and it's something he can do very comfortably for Newcastle."
'No 9 shirt really special'
Ameobi knows the No 9 shirt that Rondon wears comes with responsibility.
"Newcastle have had a storied history of great No 9s," he says. "Since Alan Shearer retired, there hasn’t really been one that has taken on that mantle.
"The longer it goes on I think that pressure will continue to build, until someone takes it really by the scruff of the neck and does the sort of things he did.
"There is pressure. The Newcastle No 9 shirt especially is really special, not only to the players but to the fans and the storied history of the club."
