Why Fulham should hold on to Aleksandar Mitrovic amidst Italian links
According to Calciomercato (h/t Yorkshire Evening Post), Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is the subject of interest from Italian club Genoa, who are plotting a raid to get their hands on the prolific frontman in January.
The Cottagers have slapped a £20million price tag on their star man in a bid to fend off interest from Genoa and it remains to be seen whether the Serie A club is ambitious enough to go forward with a deal. (Calciomercato h/t Yorkshire Evening Post)
The 25-year-old is currently firing on all cylinders for the Cottagers in the Championship, with an impressive tally of 12 goals in 16 games, making him the division’s top-scorer at the moment.
Mitrovic bagged a brace in the 4-1 rout of Reading and a hat-trick in the 3-2 victory over Luton Town in October while also delivering another man-of-the-match performance last weekend to propel the Cottagers to a 1-0 victory over Birmingham City.
Fulham started the campaign as one of the outright favourites for automatic promotion but the West Londoners currently sit 7th in the standings, two points adrift of the playoff spots following a hit-and-miss first quarter of the season which has seen them accumulate 7 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses from 16 games so far.
Mitrovic, though, has been at the centre of everything that Fulham have achieved so far, with the prolific Serbian international expected to be the main driving force if the Cottagers are to make a return to the top-flight at the first time of asking.
The 25-year-old, who initially joined Fulham on loan from Newcastle United for the second half of the 2017-18 campaign, bagged 12 goals in 20 Championship outings to guide the club to a promotion-winning season under Slavisa Jokanovic.
That paved the way for a permanent £22million transfer to Craven Cottage last summer and while Fulham went straight back down to the Championship after only a single season in the top-flight, Aleksandar Mitrovic once again caught the eye with his tally of 11 goals in the Premier League.
To that end, an exit from West London looked very much on the cards for the Serbian international in the summer when Fulham parted ways with several of their Premier League players in a bid to reduce the wage bills and balance the books.
However, Mitrovic stayed put, which, in itself, came as a massive boost to Fulham’s promotion hopes before the start of the season, and the Cottagers are already reaping rich dividends from their decision to retain his services.
To put things into perspective, Fulham should leave no stone unturned in their efforts to keep Aleksandar Mitrovic at the club, given that he remains central to their promotion hopes, and bringing in a like-for-like replacement would cost the club a fortune in the market.
Verdict
Ivan Cavaleiro and Anthony Knockaert, who are on loan from Wolves and Brighton respectively, have chipped in with some valuable goal contributions, while Tom Cairney has also been a key contributor with goals and assists from the midfield, but Mitrovic continues to be the go-to man for Scott Parker.
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Suffice to say, Fulham parting ways with Aleksandar Mitrovic in January could be detrimental to their promotion hopes and they should do everything in their power to keep the towering Serbian talisman at the club, at least until the end of the ongoing season.
