OPINION
Aleksander Mitrovic’s stuttering Newcastle career could be finally over with Greek giants Olympiacos reportedly set to table an offer before the end of the transfer window.
The Daily Mirror claimed in their transfer news blog (Monday, 11.18am) that the 22-year-old has been told he is remaining at St. James’ Park after scoring as a substitute in Saturday’s 3-0 win over West Ham.
However, it is said that Champions League side Olympiacos expressed their desire to lure Mitrovic away from Tyneside before the deadline strikes at 11pm on Thursday.
It is believed that the 27-time Serbia international has interest from clubs all around Europe, but manager Rafa Benitez would only allow the former Anderlecht ace to leave on his terms.
The report claims a deal will be sanctioned if the Toon have a replacement lined up for Mitrovic, and if his valuation of £20million is met.
This Is Futbol examines whether a deal to allow Mitrovic to leave the club is a good one, and if Olympiacos can conclude a move for the striker’s signature before Thursday’s deadline.
Good move for Newcastle?
Mitrovic showed at the weekend just what he is capable of with an excellent goal that saw him tiptoe his way past the West Ham defence, before rounding goalkeeper Joe Hart and sliding the ball home into an empty net.
However, he is just not consistent enough – he only scored six goals last season and was at times third choice to Dwight Gayle and Daryl Murphy.
If the Toon can land a fee of £20million for the Serbian ace, then Benitez will be given the necessary funds to strengthen his side as they look to avoid relegation back to the Championship.
For a striker that is struggling to turn potential into proven quality, £20million is a great price which will come as affordable to Olympiacos after they qualified for the Champions League group stages.
This Is Futbol rating: 9/10.
Likely to happen?
With only three days remaining in the summer window, all three parties must work quickly in order to pull off a deal that would see Newcastle’s number 45 move to Greece this summer.
Olympiacos are unlikely to want to spend such a huge figure on Mitrovic, and with Benitez desperate to find a replacement before selling his in-demand forward, a deal could be tricky to complete.
If the Greek outfit can convince Newcastle to do a deal around the £15million mark and pay it all up front, Benitez will be armed with plenty of cash to go out and replace Mitrovic and that would see both sides benefit from such a deal.
However, plenty of issues need to be ironed out before Mitrovic would swap the black and white stripes of Newcastle for the red and white ones of Olympiacos.
This Is Futbol rating: 3/10.