Why Newcastle United have committed a blunder by offloading Aleksandar Mitrovic
Newcastle United have gotten off to a disappointing start this season. Five games into the 2018/19 campaign, Rafael Benitez’s side find themselves rooted to the 19th spot with just one point – courtesy a goalless draw against newly-promoted Cardiff City. The Magpies were also dumped out of the League Cup in the second round by Championship outfit Nottingham Forest.
To be fair, they did face four of the big six but their performances in the attacking third haven’t been up to scratch. Goals haven’t been forthcoming for the Tyneside outfit this season and that is one of the reasons behind their slow start.
It does seem odd that the Magpies sold Serbian powerhouse Aleksandar Mitrovic to Fulham in the summer, especially considering the striker’s blistering form for club and country. However, Benitez stated recently that he has no regrets about the sale (h/t Sky Sports).
“He [Mitrovic] is doing well, he did well for Serbia, but Rondon was doing well for Venezuela,” he told Sky Sports .
“Each player has his own environment and they can do well in one team and maybe not as well in the other one. We have to make a decision in terms of what we needed and we knew what we needed, that’s it, now we have to move forward.”
Since moving to Newcastle from Anderlecht in the summer of 2015, Mitrovic managed only 17 goals in 72 appearances before being loaned out to Fulham in January. On moving to Craven Cottage, the 23-year-old led the club’s promotion campaign, bagging 12 goals and setting up one more in 17 Championship appearances.
Since joining Slavisa Jokanovic’s team in the summer, in a deal worth an initial fee of £22million that could rise to £27million (h/t Sky Sports), Mitrovic has netted four goals in five Premier League appearances and also scored twice in Serbia’s 2-2 draw against Romania during the international break.
Along with Mitrovic, Newcastle also allowed Dwight Gayle to join Championship side West Bromwich Albion on loan for the rest of the season. As a result, the Englishman has been firing on all cylinders for the Baggies, scoring 3 and setting up 3 more in six outings.
In comparison, Newcastle have managed just four goals in their five Premier League games this term. Only bottom-placed Burnley, Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town, who are in 17th and 18th spots respectively, have scored fewer goals than the Magpies so far.
Newcastle brought in Salomon Rondon to replace Mitrovic in the summer but the Venezuelan forward is yet to open his goalscoring account in the Premier League. Another summer arrival, Yoshinori Muto, has failed to find the back of the net in five appearances across all competitions as well.
Ayoze Perez is yet to score a single goal as well, with Joselu being the only striker who has managed to get off the mark this season. The Spaniard has two strikes to his name in five league appearances.
With the entire contingent of strikers struggling to get going for Newcastle United, the decision to sell Mitrovic does seem unwise. At 23, he has a long way to go and could have made all the difference for the Magpies.
