Brighton & Hove Albion have made an offer for Newcastle United forward Aleksandar Mitrovic. According to a reliable source in the English media, the Seagulls have made a bid to land the Serbian international’s signature this month. Chris Hughton’s side are set to be joined by fellow Premier League rivals West Bromwich Albion in pursuit of the Magpies outcast. The Baggies are in need of a striker in this January transfer window but any potential move will depend on their ability to raise some funds through the sale of their star defender Jonny Evans. The 23-year-old has been out for the Tyneside club for over a month now due to a back injury and is yet to start a Premier League match this season.
Mitrovic signed for Newcastle United in the summer of 2015 on a £13m deal from Anderlecht. The Serbian forward has scored 14 goals in his Newcastle career so far. The Magpies boss Rafael Benitez remains hopeful about making a few more signings before the transfer window comes to a close at the end of this month.
They recently recruited Chelsea left-back Kenedy on loan for the remainder of the campaign following a disappointing loss away at the Etihad Stadium versus the league leaders Manchester City on Saturday.
Brighton & Hove Albion currently find themselves in 16th place in the Premier League standings with a tally of 23 points in 24 league matches. Chris Hughton is likely to be in need of a striker in this transfer period with his side just managing to score only 17 goals so far in this campaign which is the second-worst record in the top tier of English football. The addition of Mitrovic will undoubtedly give them more options going forward. However, the Serbian has struggled to find the back of the net consistently after he made a switch to English Football as evidenced by his record of 10 goals in 40 matches in the Premier League.
At 23, Mitrovic still has his peak years ahead of him and Hughton could be the ideal manager to get the best out of the Serbian as they look to avoid relegation to the Championship going into the second half of the season. The Newcastle forward has scored 2 goals in 7 appearances at Tyneside this term in all competitions. If fit, he can be a threat to any defence in the Premier League. Thus, it would be a gamble to sign him, but a gamble worth taking in the case of the Seagulls.
It remains to be seen if Brighton are successful in fending off competition from West Brom in pursuit of the 23-year-old’s signature in the coming days.
