Salomon Rondon heaps praise on Claudio Yacob

Salomon Rondon may have scored the winner against Norwich but the Venezuelan striker has heaped praise on his fellow South American star Claudio Yacob.

Argentinian defensive midfielder Yacob had a stellar debut season at the Hawthorns after joining Albion from Racing Club in the summer of 2012.

But, in the two campaigns that followed, he failed to reach the same high standards he set himself in that first season.

This season though, he's been back to his commanding best, playing an important role in Albion's six clean sheets. And his renaissance hasn't gone unnoticed by other players.

Rondon said: "Claudio is very good man and a superb player. He is very important for Albion, he has been at the club for a long time and is a key player."

Playing alongside Darren Fletcher seems to have rejuvenated the 28-year-old.

Not only has the former Manchester United midfielder's tidy range of passing rubbed off on Yacob, it's allowed him to focus on doing what he does best - winning the ball back.

Rondon said: "Claudio is a very solid player in the middle and he always performs well. He is very difficult to play against and not many things get past him.

"My job as an attacker is to score goals, but I am happy to have Claudio in my team to stop other sides scoring. I love playing with him."

Earlier this week, Yacob and Rondon took part in a signing session at the Stadium Megastore at the Hawthorns.

When Rondon joined the Baggies in the summer for £12 million there was understandably a lot of excitement around a player who scored 20 goals last season for Zenit St Petersburg.

But five games without a goal was starting to put doubts in the minds of some.

There was no question the 26-year-old striker had been working hard in those games, but with few chances falling his way he was unable to find the back of the net.

Rondon's headed winner against Norwich last weekend went a long way to win over some supporters beginning to question whether he was worth the money.

He said: "Obviously I was very happy to score against Norwich. It was a big goal for us and we managed to get an important three points."

Rondon's two goals this season have yielded six points for Albion so far. No wonder he's happy to have Yacob nipping things in the bud at the other end.