Aleksandar Mitrovic could be Chelsea’s new Diego Costa.

That’s according to Jamie Redknapp, with the former Liverpool and England star claiming the Serbian striker has the talent to lead the line for a top Premier League club.

Mitrovic struggled at Newcastle after arriving in a £13m deal from Anderlecht in 2015 but has revived his carerer in England since moving to Fulham in January, initially on loan before making the move permanent in the summer.

Having helped fire Fulham to the Premier League last season with 12 goals in 17 games, he has continued his fine form into the top-flight this term.

The 24-year-old has netted five times in six league matches and currently tops the goalscoring charts.

Chelsea are reportedly looking at the frontman with Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud not exactly setting the world alight at Stamford Bridge – and Redknapp reckons Mitrovic could just be what the Blues need.

“He was brilliant leading the line for Fulham against Watford,” he  wrote in the Daily Mail.

“Gone is the loose cannon who looked like a walking red card when he was at Newcastle. He has done a lot of growing up in the last three years.

“Mitrovic is as strong as an ox, brings people into play and is using his aggression in the right way.

“He has five goals already this season and I believe he could play for one of the top Premier League clubs.

“Fulham fans won’t thank me for saying this but he would be a perfect fit for Chelsea. Mitrovic is more physical than Alvaro Morata and has more pace than Olivier Giroud.

“As a successor to Didier Drogba and Diego Costa, Mitrovic could fit the bill.”

 

https://talksport.com/football/425911/chelsea-fulham-aleksandar-mitrovic-diego-costa/

What you guys think?

I'm in.

He's had half a good season since coming to England three years ago. Current flavour of the month. Maybe one to keep an eye on but it would be an expensive gamble at this stage. 

Redknapp always comes across as a bit dim to me so I'm not inclined to pay much attention to his opinion.

To replace Giroud as a second option and a target man, absolutely.

As a first choice, he has the touch but his movement isn't anything special IMO. I'm not convinced that he is equipped to lead the line for that reason. 

The way he plays is so weirdly similar to Costa. Could he do it week in week out & on the big stage though?

Depends on the price but we paid a lot in the hope morata was a good striker, another gamble this would be.

Doesnt suit Sarris system, at all. Much better of getting a forward like Timo Werner

On 26/09/2018 at 23:09, rtwelch said:

The way he plays is so weirdly similar to Costa. Could he do it week in week out & on the big stage though?

Nah, IMO both are only similar in that they bully defenders using their strength. What made Costa so dangerous was his movement - not only making runs to suck defenders out of shape to make room for teammates, but also to position himself and then time his own runs into the box.

Mitrovic on the other hand is more of a target man. Not bad at movement, but his main strength is holding the ball up, aerial ability and strength - the perfect target man. He would fit Sarri's system, but as a second-option target man to replace Giroud. Better finisher too.

On the other hand, with experience his movements and the timing of his runs may improve, much like Drogba's did. In his first season, I remember him being a somewhat limited target man but by 2006-07 he could do everything. 

I would sign him as a second striker to replace Giroud and then see how he progresses. If he impresses while Morata continues to underperform, then Mitrovic (having replaced Giroud) should be first choice. Should he take off from there, we may well have found our Costa (well, Drogba really) replacement. If both contribute a bit between them (with Morata off the bench probably like in Real Madrid) then we make the decision about them next summer. 

7 hours ago, Xfaxtor said:

Doesnt suit Sarris system, at all. Much better of getting a forward like Timo Werner

I would consider someone like Werner in a wing-forward position, coming off the bench. He is at least passable on both feet and his extreme pace will scare tired defenders. 

However, as a CF, no way. His movement isn't bad (if unremarkable), but his lack of strength and his inconsistent finishing (putting it mildly) make him unsuitable to be a CF in our side. 

I doubt he would agree to sign as a WF, so this is all theoretical anyway. 

Edited September 27, 20187 yr by DaRick
Further clarification

I must admit that I would be very excited if Sarri makes him a transfer target for real but not sure about if we should get him that soon, I wouldn't take that gamble in January!

His current coach is Jokanovic that played for Chelsea and Mitrovic would then join him and others from his country that have been a Chelsea player (Borota,Kezman,Ivanovic,Matic).

My opinion is that every club needs this type of a player for big things to happen, somewhat of a bully striker that is always hungry for goals and wins 3 points against lower oppositions.
He's only 24 years old but has seen a lot in his career and he's the first choice for his national team, Serbia only scored 2 goals in the last world cup, Mitrovic scored one of those.

Right now he has scored five goals in the Premier league, same as Hazard and in the recent international break he managed to score twice against Romania as well, though he did score against Spurs the rest of his goals were against Watford,Brighton and Burnley and he didn't score against ManCity.

I feel like he is a better all around version of a Lukaku type of a player, no offense to Lukaku maybe he can finish better (?) but Mitrovic has shown that he is much more comfortable with the ball, he has a good first touch and can pass pretty well.

I think that he might be just enjoying his football a whole lot at Fulham right now, he's the first option there and he's getting thing done so In my opinion Sarri should wait till the end of the season and not pull the trigger and overpay him in January, but that's the thing...
...Sarri will have the option to look for much better solutions in the summer when it comes, who knows what will happen but I do think that our squad can secure the top 4 finish even without a great striker this season.

 

3 hours ago, DaRick said:

 

However, as a CF, no way. His movement isn't bad (if unremarkable), but his lack of strength and his inconsistent finishing (putting it mildly) make him unsuitable to be a CF in our side. 

I doubt he would agree to sign as a WF, so this is all theoretical anyway. 

This was what Napoli fans said of Dries Mertens. Just sayin. Doesnt have to be Werner, but I think a similar striker would fit better then an out and out target man

Since I think we all agree that it literally cannot get any worse than what Morata is bringing to the side right now, I think we just need to bring in someone young who we can buy for good value.  Whether that’s Mitrovic or not, I’m not sure.  Sounds like he would be quite expensive.

Is the forward position not an area we need to just bite the bullet in and go big though? 

I can't see Mitrovic going for less than £50m, and although he has started to mature, he would have to score a bucket list this season to warrant that lay out. His game is similar to Costa, and Drogba, and maybe like those two, Mitrovic will take off in his mid twenties. 

Anyone know much about Maxi Gomez? Looks interesting on YouTube, strong decent touch, and has a €35m buy out clause. Very good scoring record.

10 hours ago, Xfaxtor said:

This was what Napoli fans said of Dries Mertens. Just sayin. Doesnt have to be Werner, but I think a similar striker would fit better then an out and out target man

You make a good point.

That said, IMO Mertens was a better finisher even in his PSV days and had a better technique. Also Serie A places less of a premium on strength than the PL.

4 hours ago, big blue said:

Anyone know much about Maxi Gomez? Looks interesting on YouTube, strong decent touch, and has a €35m buy out clause. Very good scoring record.

From what I've seen he's a target man in the Giroud/Mitrovic mold, only more limited. Like Giroud he can make some spectacular finishes but is overall an inconsistent finisher and I actually think Giroud has a better touch. 

Edited September 28, 20187 yr by DaRick
Further clarification

We need another striker, two isn't enough with all the games we have to play on four fronts (plus internationals for Giroud), especially if one gets injured. We took a gamble with just the two, relying heavily on at least one of them to come good. Considering our league start has been pretty easy with games against the bottom four and only two clubs from the top half of the table, they should have scored a few and settled in by now. 12 more weeks and the winter window opens, the fixture list between now and then includes liverpool, man utd, tottenham, and man city, lets see what it brings.

Always liked the cut of his jib to be fair.

Andre Silva is another striker who I wouldn't be averse to.