According to Football Insider, Newcastle United have rejected a staggering 22 loan offers from different clubs over the past couple of weeks. This is an absurd amount for a player whose last contribution came in November with a goal against West Ham United.
Mitrovic has quite surely fallen out of favour under Rafael Benitez and has racked up just 257 minutes of game time this season. Disappointing to say the least, for a striker with a £14m price tag.
A product of the FK Partizan youth setup, having passed the ranks with flying colours, Mitrovic made himself known among Europe with a 44 goal tally in 93 appearances for Belgian side, RSC Anderlecht. He helped the side win their 33rd title in his debut season and was deemed to be the next big thing in European football.
Of course, Premier League sides came sniffing around and Newcastle United emerged with the best offer for the young striker giving him the number nine role in the starting XI. He arrived at St. James Park for a fee of £13m and expressed his eagerness to replicate the performances of club legend, Alan Shearer.
At the time it looked all was set for the future and the fans could rest easy with an ambitious and effective goal scorer up top, but things did not quite turn out that way. Mitrovic has a very mediocre first season in the Premier League with just 9 goals in 36 games and saw the club get relegated to the Championship.
He was given a fair amount of chances in his second season as well but failed to uphold the standards of Benitez and was dropped down the pecking order behind the likes of Dwight Gayle.
Newcastle United knew that they needed a strong core group of players to face the new season in top-flight English football. Their ambitions lie in placing in the top half of the table rather than fighting a relegation battle by the end of the season.
However, with the side struggling to match up to the top sides, they are constantly facing the danger of falling to the bottom three. An impressive wing against Stoke City away from home was followed up by a disappointing draw at home against Swansea City. They have not won a game at home since October and are faced with a tough fixture against Manchester City on Sunday.
Benitez does not have the funds to sign the players he wants and Mitrovic’s transfer is the only option he has in obtaining that final bargaining chip. This is a cause for concern as no club wants to pay such a high figure for a player who is seemingly a bust in top-flight football.
