Aleksandar Mitrovic was a crucial factor behind Fulham’s return to the Premier League. The Serbian moved to London outfit from Newcastle on a temporary basis back in January – a move that appears to have worked well for all parties.
After having scored 12 goals in 20 matches for Fulham, Mitrovic is undoubtedly basking in the sunshine. Rumours about his future have been rife since their promotion was confirmed, with Fulham desperate to keep him at Craven Cottage and Rafa Benitez keen to cash in – but only at the right price, with it being confirmed yesterday that we will be demanding at LEAST £20m.
Here’s what Mitrovic has said when speaking about his future ahead of this summer’s World Cup:
“I don’t know [about future]. Of course I am really happy here. I had the best three and a half, four months of my career.
“We will see what happens. I am still a Newcastle United player, I have two years left on my contract, so we will see. I want to enjoy now. I have one day to rest and then I have to work hard, and I will focus on that.”
The 23-year-old came to Newcastle in the summer of 2015 for around £13 million. After starting out with ambitions of becoming the next Alan Shearer, Mitrovic quickly found himself out of favour. He struggled to settle into life at St James’ Park and his move to the club also coincided with to a time when the club went through difficult times – relegation and several other issues both on and off the pitch.
Now, however, happier times have returned to Newcastle with the club having a strong finish to the 2017-18 campaign. Even though owner Mike Ashley has still put the club up for sale, there is a greater attraction surrounding Newcastle going into the summer transfer window. Better calibre players will be ready to join the club after watching Benitez’s NUFC earn a top 10 finish on our first season back.
In a three-year spell with Newcastle, Mitrovic ended up scoring only 17 goals in 72 matches. His Premier League tally stands at 14 goals in 65 games and it has taken him just six months in order to come close to this tally at Fulham. The striker will be travelling to the World Cup as one of the key forwards for the Serbian national team, who are expected to get out of the group stages by the latest World Cup bets.
Newcastle undoubtedly hold the key towards his future. The striker only has two years left on his contract and we look likely to sell him in order to maximise his resurgent transfer value – especially when the money received will be key to signing a proven striker of Rafa’s choice.
