Noel Whelan has suggested to Football Insider that Aleksandar Mitrovic could help Leeds United “romp the Championship” if he joined from Fulham.
Considering the Serbian has already scored 12 goals in the Championship this season, it seems a rather pretty obvious statement to make, although one that is perhaps undeniable. Whelan also said that the 25-year-old ‘ticks every box for a striker at Championship level’, which is good this season but suggests that he would struggle should Leeds gain promotion, and with Mitrovic being valued by Transfermarkt at £22.5m, that’s a lot of money for a short-term fix. “Seriously. He’s that good,” he later proclaimed.
The 25-year-old has also scored 17 goals for Serbia so far this season, which takes his total up to 29 in 31 games. But what would happen to Patrick Bamford? You could play both of them upfront, meaning someone else would have to miss out on game time. This would also likely mean the end of Eddie Nketiah’s stay, as we can’t see the 20-year-old sticking around to be a third choice striker.
The problem for Marcelo Bielsa would be how you fit Mitrovic into the side. Bamford has only scored five goals in 16 appearances, which is much less of a return than the Serbian, meaning the Englishman could potentially be moved on to make space for the Fulham striker.
When playing in the Premier League, Mitrovic is a proven goalscorer but isn’t necessarily consistently great. He can get goals, scoring 11 times for Fulham in the Premier League, however, he did play 37 games which makes him about a one-in-three or four striker, not this nearly a-goal-a-game striker he is when playing in the Championship.
Verdict
Bielsa hasn’t played a two striker formation all season, so why would Leeds be interested in over staffing the striker position?
Bamford would almost certainly have to be sold if this move was to ever happen, we would recommend keeping Nketiah and keeping him as the backup, but definitely give him some more game time and a start here and there.
Acquiring Mitrovic would be a great bit of business if you can sign him for around £10m-£15m, as he’ll probably be good for 10 goals if Leeds can get promoted this season, which should be good enough if other areas of the team also receive an upgrade; should the Peacocks be in the Premier League next season.