Marco Silva has confirmed that Aleksandar Mitrovic forced his way out of Fulham and that an agreement has been made for his sale to Al Hilal.
Mitrovic was not in the matchday squad and was not present at Craven Cottage as Fulham lost 3-0 to Brentford in their first home match of the season.
The news broke during the match, confirming that Mitrovic had left Fulham to join Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.
“He was not in the squad list because he got injured in the last game”, Silve began. “About his future, he’s on his way to leave the club. I got information before the match and now the confirmation from the club after the match that he’s on his way to leave the club. Both clubs have got an agreement.
“He forced everything to leave the club. He wanted to leave. Until the moment that we got a financial agreement, it was up to the club to decide.
“I don’t know about [the fee], and even if I knew, financial stuff is not for me to comment about.”
Asked about Mitrovic’s approach to leaving the club — by forcing an exit — Silva replied: “If you ask me is it normal? No. Should football players behave in this way? No. Easy answer.
“He forced it, but I’m not saying if I’m disappointed in him. Everything of my opinion I told him myself in private.
“We want four or five players to sign before the finish of the market. We are going to do our best [to replace him]. We have to find the right player. If not, we are going to face the Premier League with the players we have here. We have to invest.”
New £5million signing Raul Jimenez started up front in place of Mitrovic, and Silva is braced for comparisons between the two across the season.
“From this moment that Mitrovic is leaving the club, we have to prepare for Mitrovic to be compared to what Raul is doing.
“Really tough result for us. The Cottage, in a derby, and our first game at home of the season: it’s tough when we’ve lost the game. They [Brentford] deserve the three points. We have a long way to improve.”
