Fulham secured their promotion to the Premier League by winning against Aston Villa in the playoff finals. Now they will be looking ahead to prepare their life in the English top flight. Winning the playoffs certainly comes with huge financial boosts and some part of that will certainly be used by the club to recruit some players. One of them could be Aleksandr Mitrovic who enjoyed a good loan spell at the club.
Mitrovic was instrumental in the later stages of the Championship as he led the attacking line with vigour and managed 12 goals in 18 games. It is clear that Newcastle United are looking to sell him and Fulham are the prime contenders to have him but there is a twist in the tale as Crystal Palace have been monitoring the Serbian forward and we might see the Eagles make a move for him soon.
Palace started their season horribly as they were pointless in the first seven games but slowly and steadily they picked themselves up under new manager Roy Hodgson and ensured a respectable 11th place finish, after a late flourish in the final few games.
Eagles have been lacking the cutting edge upfront due to the dismal season that Christian Benteke had as he managed just 3 goals in the entire campaign. The team currently doesn’t have many options apart from the Belgian and that is where a signing like Mitrovic can come in handy.
The Serbian international has found it tough to get game time at his parent club and it is pretty evident that he will be sold. With Crystal Palace joining the race to sign him, it can ensue a bidding war between the two clubs and the Magpies certainly won’t complain about that.
The situation at Selhurst Park was so dire that Hodgson had to deploy Wilfried Zaha in the striker’s role. He played as a false 9 and had the creative freedom to move around the pitch. A lot was expected out of Benteke but due to injuries and lack of confidence, he really struggled in front of goal.
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To sign a striker in the transfer market is an absolute necessity for Palace and Mitrovic will certainly boost their squad if they manage to sign him. However, the Cottagers will definitely have an edge over them as he has already got used to the system they play in and their manager, Slavisa Jokanovic, who is a compatriot of the Serbian sharpshooter, can play a huge part in bringing Mitrovic to Craven cottage on a permanent basis.
