Aleksandar Mitrovic proving his critics wrong with Fulham

The 23-year old had an outstanding game for Fulham on Sunday in a 4-2 victory over Burnley, scoring twice in a span of just three minutes.

This season is Fulham’s first year in the Premier League since 2014, and although they have won just once in three games so far, Aleksandar Mitrovic has been proving his worth to the club.

The Serbian international was a huge reason the Whites earned a promotion to the Premier League after scoring 12 goals last season in the Championship for Fulham. After his impressive year in 2017/18, they made his loan move from Newcastle a permanent one, making Mitrovic a Fulham man for the distant future, signing him to a five-year contract through the summer of 2023.

Mitrovic has already netted three times in as many games as Fulham’s primary man up front, while also coming extremely close to tallying a hat-trick on Sunday against Burnley. All three of his goals thus far have been headers, using his large frame to fight off defenders and put the ball into the net. He has great finesse with his head, evident in his second goal against Burnley. Mitrovic came across the box and met a cross with a header, firing it right past Burnley keeper Joe Hart.

Serbian connection

Fellow Serbian and Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic was the one who brought Mitrovic to Craven Cottage last January from Newcastle. Rafael Benitez didn’t feel Mitrovic was the right fit for the Magpies last year in the top flight, so he sent him off to the Whites. Now Benitez is definitely regretting that move, seeing how Mitrovic has been playing so far this year in the Premier League.

Jokanovic stated in recent interviews that Mitrovic is much more than a Championship striker and he has the abilities to be one of the best attackers in the Premier League. Jokanovic has also said how much belief he has in Mitrovic as one of his primary goal-scorers, which can only help the confidence of the 23-year old. They clearly have a very good relationship between the two, which is very important. Mitrovic has such a great attitude on the pitch and is always working hard, whether it’s offensively or defensively. There have been doubters saying he will never be more than a Championship-caliber player, but he is proving all those critics wrong thus far and will continue to do so.

Physicality

One of the most noticeable strengths of Mitrovic’s brilliance up front is how physical he is. He does a great job of fighting for possession and pushing oppositions off the ball whether it’s in the other teams half or his own. If he’s got an opportunity to move into space and take a shot on goal, Mitrovic is very talented at protecting the ball and keeping it away from defenders so they can’t get a foot in before he takes a strike. He uses his size extremely well in all aspects of the game. Combine his physical style of play with the ability to set up goals and score them as well, and the future looks very bright for Mitrovic.

Fulham may not have gotten off to the start they were looking for this season, but they have a world-class number 9 up front for them who will continue to score goals and help them stay in the Premier League this year. Add in Andre Schurrle and Jean-Michael Seri on the attack, and Slavisa Jokanovic’s side has some very talented guys that can net numerous goals this season for the Whites.