Erling Haaland is the generational talent, sweeping the rug from under Premier League scoring records at the same rate as he does opposition defences.
Harry Kane is his country’s talisman with Alan Shearer’s high-water mark of 260 top flight goals trained in his sights.
But who is that rubbing shoulders with elite company among the division’s top scorers?
Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic. And it’s to show him some respect.
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How Arsenal and Spurs could line up for derby with Arteta's injury boost and Conte's 3-5-2 call30 September, 2022When the subject turns to the most prolific goalscorers on the planet, Mitrovic is never mentioned. But his scoring record stands up against some of the best, despite not being blessed with world-class colleagues for much of his career.
The 28-year-old has done it for Newcastle, Fulham, Serbia and Anderlecht over the years, scoring 142 goals across 238 starts which have come in the muck and nettles of relegation battles and crunch World Cup qualifiers.
It’s mystifying that when summer conversations revolved around the clutch of Champions League clubs that needed a new goalscorer, Mitrovic’s name was never mentioned.
Part of the answer is that the man himself appreciates the love he feels at Craven Cottage. The desire to agitate for a move is not nearly as strong as playing for a manager who has harnessed his potential where others saw problems.
“Mitrovic is always full of motivation to play with Fulham Football Club shirt or with his national team, that is the motivation for him, to play football matches, to be involved with his team-mates, to keep playing with his connection with me and my staff,” Marco Silva, his club manager, said on Friday.
"He doesn't need to play against Newcastle to be motivated…"
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 30, 2022
Fulham boss Marco Silva says Aleksandar Mitrović is always 'full of motivation' as the striker prepares to face his former side Newcastlepic.twitter.com/jAOi8qUJa1
The question was whether Mitrovic’s competitive fire would burn more intensely this weekend given the opposition – Newcastle United – were former employers. Silva probably had a point.
Those who know Mitrovic speak of a dedicated, humble professional and he has had nothing but positive words to say about a three year spell on Tyneside that split opinion.
He was cherished at Newcastle but arrived dreadfully raw. The club went back and forth before committing to the £13m transfer, with then Chief Scout Graham Carr taking soundings from sources across Europe before eventually recommending him to the St James’ Park board. He agonised about that call.
An insider in Belgium had told him that Mitrovic’s weight could be an issue. One summer at Anderlecht he’d spent back in his family home and club officials were shocked that he’d turned up so out of shape. He ballooned, they worked out, from eating too much of his mother’s pizza.
These days Mitrovic is much more comfortable in his own skin and the description of him as a “throwback number nine” doesn’t feel quite such a backhanded compliment. Those concerns about his discipline have evaporated too – his last red card was six years.
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How Man City and Man Utd could line-up for derby with Maguire and Stones both out30 September, 2022Haaland has shown that speed of thought is an asset when married to an imposing physique and what Mitrovic lacks in pace, he more than makes up for in other areas. Good in the air, he also has the penalty box presence to trouble a Newcastle side that looked uncharacteristically vulnerable last time out against Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe, unlike one of his predecessors Rafa Benitez, does recognise Mitrovic’s ability. “If you have a striker in that form, with that potency, it’s a really good foundation for success,” he said of Fulham’s impressive re-introduction to the Premier League. The giddy heights of the top four are on the horizon if the Cottagers continue that flying start.
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