Following his deadline day loan move to Fulham, Aleksandar Mitrovic has praised Rafa Benitez and the ‘amazing’ NUFC fans – also admitting that he has to ‘respect’ his ‘boss’ Mike Ashley despite never meeting him.
The Serbian has largely enjoyed huge amounts of support during his two and a half years on Tyneside, however he was like Marmite to many – you either loved him or you hated him. He was never a character you’d actually hate, with him often coming across well and having a clear love for the club, however his reckless behaviour on the pitch and lack of goals had made some fans question what on earth all the hype was about from groups of avid supporters of the Serb around St James’ Park.
For some, chants of ‘MITRO, MITRO, MITRO’ didn’t add up given this was a striker that struggled to perform or score goals in the Championship when given his chance last season.
Either way, he needed game time after a struggling to get into Rafa’s plans this season and a loan move to Fulham could be a very good one for him and all parties.
Here’s what he’s had to say about the club, Benitez, the NUFC fans and Mike Ashley when speaking to the Times:
“For me Newcastle is such a big club and he (Benítez) knows it as well,”
“It has an amazing stadium and fans, it deserves to be in a much better position than it is now.
“Benítez saw the big potential of this club. I hope they stay in the Premier League, they deserve this.
“I never met Mike Ashley, he was my boss and I have to respect him.
“I will say Newcastle has a big history and I hope the club will be where it should be.”
“Even now I wear black and white”
Good luck to the lad at Fulham. They play good football and should create chances for him.
As Rafa said recently, he may come back as a ‘new player’ having scored a hatful of goals and I do hope this is the case.
Even though Benitez and Mitrovic don’t seem compatible, it would be great to see him return a changed man and a player capable of actually doing the business at St James’ Park.
He clearly wants that, but it’s time for him to prove to Benitez over the next few months that he’s capable of doing it.
