£4.5m profit: West Brom broke the bank in record transfer but it was worth it: View | OneFootball

West Brom were certainly enjoying a strong period in their history back in the summer of 2015.

Following a 13th place finish the season before, the Baggies were preparing to enter their sixth consecutive campaign in the Premier League.

That was by that point their longest stay in the competition in that guise in the club's history by some distance.

As a result, the lucrative financial rewards that came with being such an established top-flight club, opened up new options for West Brom in terms of investment in their playing squad.

In the summer of 2015, that is certainly something those in charge at The Hawthorns took advantage of.

In August 2015, on the same day the Baggies kicked off their latest top-flight campaign, the club also completed the signing of Salomon Rondon.

reported £12million.

In making that move for such a fee, the Venezuelan international became the most expensive signing in the club's history.

Given the fact he had never previously played in England, there may have been some argument that West Brom had taken something of a risk by making a record investment in Rondon.

Ultimately though, it was a move made by those at The Hawthorns, that on the whole, would pay off for the club.

Salomon Rondon a profitable Baggies signing

Having made his move to West Brom, Rondon did not take long to settle in at The Hawthorns, and quickly became an important player for the Baggies.

The striker remained in the Midlands for the next three seasons, and delivered a respectable return of 28 goals in 120 appearances in all competitions for the club.

Indeed, in all three seasons he spent at The Hawthorns, Rondon finished as the club's top scorer in the Premier League.

In the first two of those seasons, it was enough to ensure that West Brom comfortably retained a place in the Premier League.

At the end of the 2017/18 season, the Baggies had finished bottom of the Premier League, confirming their relegation back to the Championship, despite the efforts of the likes of Rondon.

Even then though, they were still able to benefit from Rondon in another way. The summer of 2018 saw the Venezuelan return to the Premier League, spending that campaign on loan with Newcastle United.

Rondon would go on to score 12 goals in 33 games in total for the Magpies, who were at the time managed by Rafael Benitez.

With Benitez leaving St James' Park at the end of the 2018/19 season though, he would next head to China, where he took charge of Dalian Professional.

It then became evident that Rondon himself had left his mark on Benitez during their time together at Newcastle, with the Spaniard again moving to sign him from West Brom.

This time though, it was a permanent deal, with Dalian paying a reported £16.5million to complete the signing of the striker.

That is of course, £4.5million more than what West Brom paid for him, ensuring they made a decent profit on their investment in the striker, that could then be reinvested into the club itself.

So with Rondon scoring goals for them on the field, and making them money off it, this is one deal from recent history that ultimately proved a rather good one for the Baggies.