On Tuesday, Newcastle completed the signing of Serbia international striker Aleksandar Mitrovic from Anderlecht for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £13 million. The 20-year-old has penned a five-year contract at St James’ Park and becomes the fourth biggest transfer in the Magpies’ history.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Mitrovic reckons his style of play is perfect for the physically demanding Premier League:
“I’m aggressive, strong. I’m a goalscorer. I am a real number nine, the penalty box is my place. My position is through the middle, I’m like a striker who has played here before – from Alan Shearer to Papiss. They are big names and I hope I can make a similar impact. Alan Shearer is a real legend and one of my heroes. That and Drogba is how I like to play and it’s an honour to play at this club. I’m a physical sort of player. I like to fight and score goals.”
THE HISTORY
Born in Smederevo, Mitrovic joined the Partizan youth system in 2005 as a ten-year-old and spent the next six years honing his skills. He then made his senior debut with affiliated side Teleoptik, where he scored seven times in 25 league outings during the 2011/12 season.
In the summer of 2012, Mitrovic signed his first professional contract with Partizan, securing a four-year deal. He made 28 league appearances in the 2012/13 campaign, scoring 13 goals, which persuaded Anderlecht to pay a club-record transfer fee of €5 million for his seervices
During his first year in Belgium, Mitrovic notched 16 goals in 32 league appearances, and also registered six assists. Last season, he was even more prolific, netting 20 times in 37 league outings, while the Serbian also provided four assists, and scored two goals in five Champions League appearances, including a late equaliser in a 3-3 draw against Arsenal.
Mitrovic scored nine goals in 18 appearances for the Serbia U19 and U21 sides, and was named Player of the Tournament in the 2013 UEFA Under-19 Championships, which Serbia won. He made his senior debut against Belgium in June 2013 and currently has one goal from 13 international caps, which came in a 1-1 draw against Croatia in September 2013.
THE PROSPECTS
With Newcastle boss Steve McClaren favouring a 4-2-3-1 system so far during pre-season, it looks as if Mitrovic will be competing with Papiss Cisse for the central role up front, with fellow forwards Ayoze Perez and Emmanuel Riviere both capable of playing across the forward line. Given that McClaren utilised a 4-3-3 at Derby, he’s clearly in favour of a lone-striker system, and with rumours increasing of a move away for Cisse, it seems that the new boy could quickly barge his way to the top of the pecking order.
Discussing his latest big-money acquisition, McClaren was quick to point out that he’ll afford him time to settle, if needs be:
“I think he’ll fit right in. Players like that tend to. He has to adapt but he’s adapted everywhere he’s been. He’s only very young, he made his debut in Serbia and moved to Anderlecht so he’s already made one move and adapted to a different league so he’s got experience of that at a young age. Now he’s got to do it again, adapt to our training and the Premier League but he’s a good acquisition for the squad. He brings goals. He’s got potential and talent and I think that’s an ideal signing and profile for the football club and we want to develop him and bring him in and give him the experience and however long it takes to get him used to the Premier League.”
Given Cisse scored 11 league goals in just 22 appearances last season, he can also make a strong claim for the lone-striker role during the forthcoming campaign, should he remain on Tyneside. The issue here, of course, is the Senegal international’s propensity for picking up injuries which have severely restricted his pitch time over the last couple of seasons. With question marks over Cisse’s ability to last the distance during matches, it’s surely only a matter of time before he’s ousted as the club’s first-choice forward.
Standing six foot two-and-a-half, Mitrovic is more of a target-man type than Cisse and will offer McClaren’s side a far more robust presence up top. Looking at the stats, he won 2.4 aerial duels per match in last year’s Champions League, whilst Cisse averaged 0.9 in the Premier League.
Mitrovic joins a Newcastle side that scored a paltry 40 goals last season – a tally superior to only five other teams in the top flight. The addition of Dutch international midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum should certainly boost the creativity of the side, while Siem de Jong is fully fit for the new campaign after only making four appearances last time around. With the likes of Moussa Sissoko and Jack Colback in midfield, and young Rolando Aarons sparkling in pre-season, McClaren – who is still targeting a few more signings – is looking for a top-eight finish.
From a Fantasy perspective, though, the Magpies’ opening fixtures look a real deterrent – Newcastle face six of last season’s top eight over the course of the first eight Gameweeks, including away trips to Arsenal and Manchester City.
Priced at a very reasonable 6.5, Mitrovic costs you the same as West Ham’s Diafra Sakho, who has four home clashes (LEI, BOU, NEW, NOR) in the first seven Gameweeks, for example. If, as expected, he ousts Cisse from the first XI, the Serbian’s opening schedule suggests we’d be best avoiding for now and allowing him time to settle before the fixtures turn far kinder around the Gameweek 9 mark.
