Newcastle United are reportedly prepared to stall the sale of Aleksandar Mitrovic in the hope of getting a higher price – and fans have delivered mixed verdicts on Twitter.
Chronicle football editor Mark Douglas reported on his personal account today (Tuesday) that Fulham are keen to sign the centre-forward on a permanent deal after his prolific loan spell.
But Douglas explained Newcastle are now ready to play the waiting game as they believe Mitrovic’s price will shoot up if he shines for Serbia at the World Cup.
Fulham boss Jokanovic was at Serbia training camp yesterday – where Mitro was on press duties. Said he wants Mitrovic to sign but it’s up to Fulham board and owners to broker the deal now.
Fulham want quick deal but #nufc might think a good World Cup might up his price…
— Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) May 29, 2018
Mitrovic struggled for game time at Newcastle in the first half of the season before he was loaned out to Fulham at the end of January.
The striker made a huge impact for the London club, scoring 12 goals in 20 matches as they secured promotion from the Championship via the play-offs last weekend.
He also has an impressive international record of 13 goals from 35 matches for Serbia and will be one of their main goal hopes at the World Cup.
Newcastle fans on social media are split between those who think a quick sale to Fulham is a ‘no brainer’ as it will free up funds for Rafael Benitez, and those who believe the club should hold tight in the hope of a fee closer to £30million.
Nothing But Newcastle has rounded up some of the best tweets:
I honestly think #NUFC will wait.
Fulham will pay 20-25 million for him anyway, regardless of WC
We have nothing to lose. If he has a great WC and bangs in 4-5 goals, his price will rocket to 30 million and the big boys will come calling.
His international record is sublime.
— Burnsie ⚽ NUFC ⚽ (@BenArfaChance) May 29, 2018
I disagree. While his international record is good, he won’t fetch £30m regardless of whether or not he performs well in Russia. Also, on top of that, we need the money to reinvest ASAP. Don’t want to be rushing through another Slimani-esque loan deal come deadline day.
— Paulo Dummetti (@TheMackemSlayer) May 29, 2018
what about a bad world cup , id snap anyone’s hand off who’s daft enough to pay 20 million
— Mal Huddart (@M4lah75) May 29, 2018
Tricky one, do a quick deal and get the money banked for Rafa, or wait another month and add another £5-7 million on his price..
— Daniel (@danjpeg) May 29, 2018
By that basis he has a poor world cup and we sign him for 12m instead of 20m. It’s a risky game Newcastle would be playing
— Ash Fisher-Woolford (@AshWWoolford) May 29, 2018
Get the feeling it would need to be £20m + to tempt us to sell before the World Cup. 3 or 4 goals in the tournament, he could easily start a bidding war and fetch £30m whereas doing not much I doubt would reduce blue much under £20m giving his age and scoring ratio in career.
— Dan Snowden (@DanSnowden) May 29, 2018
Sell now… wait… makes no odds the money won’t be reinvested.
— Lee Atkinson (@LeeTheMag) May 29, 2018
Sell now. If he gets injured at WC we’re stuck with him. Sell now and bring in a replacement. No brainer.
— TeeWoo (@WoodyLad8) May 29, 2018
Get the deal done so we can use the money on players Rafa actually wants.
— Richard Hodges (@richowenhodges) May 29, 2018
Dear God! That will give #nufc about 4 weeks to get their entire transfer business done this summer. I imagine Rafa is in a “sell before you buy” situation.
— Stuart Rain (@swrain79) May 29, 2018
