According to Sky Sports, Newcastle have accepted a bid in the region of £22million rising to £27million from Fulham for Serbian international striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. The striker is expected to undergo a medical in the next few days before completing a move to Craven Cottage.
A big hit at Fulham last season
Mitrovic played a key role in the Cottagers return to the Premier League last season while on-loan from the Magpies. The 23-year-old moved to Fulham in the January transfer window in search of first-team football to aid his chances of playing for his country at the World Cup.
The striker proceeded to score 12 times in 20 appearances, as Slavisa Jokanovic’s side won promotion via the Championship play-offs. The Serbian international was a major hit with the Cottagers and a return on a permanent basis has been mooted all summer.
The move suits the striker, as he will be a first-choice striker at a Premier League club. He seemed to enjoy his loan spell in the capital and he will look to continue his good run of form in front of goal.
Fulham were desperately short of players before the transfer window opened, especially in attack, so the signing of Mitrovic on a permanent deal will be a big boost to Jokanovic’s side.
Newcastle need the funds to strengthen elsewhere
Nothing seems to change at Newcastle. The Magpies are still shopping in the bargain basement when it comes to signing players. Top boss Rafa Benitez still continues to pull rabbits out of his hat somehow to keep the north east side in the top-flight.
Owner Mike Ashley has once again neglected to back the team’s boss in the transfer market. You have to wonder how long the former Liverpool boss will stick around if Ashley continues to fail the club when it comes to stumping up the cash to sign players.
At least Benitez may see some of the cash from the sale of Mitrovic, well you would hope anyway. However, even £22million does not get you much these days when it comes to Premier League standard players.
Mitrovic never really fulfilled his potential at Newcastle. He arrived with an exciting reputation and made a promising start for the Magpies. However, in the end, his United career will be remembered more for a rash of red cards than his goalscoring prowess.
Fulham one of the favourites to suffer relegation
Fulham won promotion last season from the Championship, but by the beginning of the summer, the Cottagers had a threadbare squad. The Londoners have since signed Fabri, Jean-Michael Seri, Maxime Le Marchand and Andre Schurrle.
They are also reportedly on the verge of completing a move for Swansea centre-back Alfie Mawson. Jokanovic’s squad will certainly be much stronger if Mitrovic and Mawson complete their moves to Craven Cottage.
Despite their summer additions, Fulham are still one of the favourites to suffer relegation at odds of 15/8. The logic is simple, though, as the more high-quality players the Cottagers can sign, the better their chances of avoiding a quick return to the second tier next season.
Whether they can survive the drop will very much depend on Mitrovic’s performances in the new season. If he can continue to score goals in the new season then the Cottagers will have a fighting chance of surviving the drop next season, if not then they could be in for a long hard season.
At the moment, though, the deal to sign Mitrovic suits all parties involved, and it is a move that makes sense for the Cottagers.
Can Aleksandar Mitrovic score the goals to keep Fulham in the top-flight next season?
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