According to a report from Chronicle Live, Newcastle United are set to demand a transfer fee of £20million for the services of Aleksandar Mitrovic. After spending the latter half of the previous season on loan with Fulham, there have been talks about a permanent move but the newly-promoted outfit will have to shell out a great deal of money to secure his services.
The Serbian international played an integral role in helping Fulham earn a promotion back to the Premier League via playoffs. And the Cottagers are keen on signing him this summer, while the striker himself is understood to be intent on moving back to Craven Cottage.
However, Fulham are not willing to offer more than £15million for the services of the Serbian. Mitrovic joined Newcastle back in the summer of 2015, having earned himself a reputation with Belgian outfit RSC Anderlecht. However, things haven’t worked out for the 23-year-old at St. James’ Park.
So far in his three-year spell with the Tynesiders, he has appeared 72 times across all competitions, netting 17 goals and assisting 10 more.
Over the course of the previous season, Mitrovic found game time hard to come by under the current Magpies manager Rafael Benitez. In fact, he appeared just 6 times for Newcastle in the 2017/18 season and was eventually shipped out to Fulham in January.
Having moved to Craven Cottage, the 23-year-old thrived in his new surroundings as he went on to score 12 goals in 17 appearances in the EFL Championship.
For someone who has often been mired by disciplinary issues on the field throughout his time at St. James’ Park, Mitrovic is an immensely talented striker who has time and again shown glimpses of his potential.
Mitrovic is a tall and strong attacker with a penchant for dominating physical opponents. Furthermore, he is a force to reckon with in the air and is a good finisher as well. Blessed with quick feet, he can run at opponents and cause some serious issues up front.
Moreover, the Serbian has proven his pedigree at an international level as well, netting 13 times in 35 appearances for the national team. In addition to that, Mitrovic also has experience from playing in European competitions, scoring 6 goals in 25 appearances in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League combined.
Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic seemed to have gotten the best out of the 23-year-old, despite his drawbacks. And now that the Cottagers are back in the Premier League, they could definitely make use of someone of his quality in their ranks.
Given the current state of the transfer market, the price tag seems reasonable enough. A strong performance in the summer’s FIFA World Cup in Russia could see Mitrovic’s stock rise further, which is why Fulham should act quickly to sign him up.