Well, I did have my suspicions that this was the reason, but just couldn’t find anything to confirm it.
That’s until now that is. I spoke recently about Fulham forward Aleksandar Mitrovic was in when it came to both his club and his country, and whether or not the reason he has found himself on the bench in recent games is due to that lack of form or if he’s simply burned out from having to play so many games for club and country recently.
It seems though that we can rule out the latter as an option according to The Sun’s Isabelle Latifa Barker, as she claims that he hasn’t been able to get into the side for purely tactical reasons:
Fulham people I am told Aleksandar Mitrovic is “fit as a fiddle” for anyone wondering. His omission by Scott Parker is nothing injury or fitness related #FFC
— Isabelle Latifa Barker (@Isabellelatifa) December 5, 2020
Do we need to bring in a new centre-forward this window?
Yes
No
Our play has been getting better in recent weeks, and it is no coincidence that they have come when Mitrovic hasn’t been a regular part of the team, not too dissimilar to how we had an excellent record in the Championship last season whilst he wasn’t in the team.
Which leads me to believe whether or not we could be seeing the ‘end of an era’ for Mitrovic at Fulham. There’s no denying how important he has been to us with the goals he has scored, but with Scott Parker in charge and the way he has set up in the Premier League, you could make the argument that playing him would be holding us back.
And with the January window around the corner, if we could get something in return for him (even if it’s not the full £22m we paid for him in 2018) and spend the money on someone who fits the side better, I’m not sure I’d be totally opposed to the idea.
What about you? Do you think that Mitrovic will get back into the side soon? Or do you think his time with us is nearly up?