Aleksandar Mitrovic might have failed to score in his last three games against Newcastle but he might be proving his former Magpies manager Rafa Benitez wrong - and right - this season.
After his 43-goal season and the great form he's displayed in his return to the Premier League, Newcastle might be regretting selling the Serbian back in the 2018 summer transfer window to Fulham for a £22 million fee.
The Serbian international scored just 17 goals in 72 Newcastle appearances in all competitions and has repeatedly found criticism for not being able to perform consistently in England's top-flight.
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However, since last season, it's almost like he's been in a constant purple patch in front of goal and has staked his claim early for this season's Golden Boot award after six goals in Fulham's eight games so far. Mitrovic was sold on to the Cottagers after a back injury sidelined him for over two months halfway through the season and was sent on loan to Craven Cottage in January before the deal was made permanent in the summer.
Speaking in December 2018, Benitez explained his reasoning for selling Mitrovic, saying he wasn't right for the side despite the goals he scored.
“You have a vision, and you see the stats. But I can analyse the games, the way that he was playing, and also every training session with us. Is he a good player? Yes. Can he score goals for Fulham? Yes. But, for us, maybe we needed something different. Maybe because he was not playing, his confidence was low, and now it’s high. But we needed more mobility.
“Normally, if you’re defending and play counter-attack, the striker has to have more mobility. If not, he’s just a target man. For our team, that’s not ideal. Can we play this way? Yes, but we would need to sign other players. It depends on the players around. But were we right or wrong? We got promoted, we won the Championship, we were right. Then, we finished 10th (last season) – so we were right.
“Now, we are ahead of Fulham – so, at the moment, we are right. We are doing well without him.”
Of course Mitrovic's career would have looked a lot different if Benitez had kept him at St. James' Park, but when the Magpies arrive at Fulham on Saturday, he'll be the one they'll be most worried about.
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