Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez has confirmed that on-loan striker Salomon Rondon is playing his way to a permanent deal.

Rondon, 29, scored his fourth goal in six matches to earn a crucial win at relegation rivals Huddersfield. This form will help convince a board that refused to pay £16.5 million to West Bromwich Albion for him in the summer.

“It will be fine,” said Benitez. “Hopefully he can start scoring a lot of goals, and then you can ask me this in a few weeks and hopefully it can be positive then, too.

“I am happy with him, but still he can improve. I think he is doing a great job for the team.”