The shock fee Fulham look set to pay for Aleksandar Mitrovic IF they win Saturday's play-off final
According to the Chronicle, NUFC chiefs will be 'praying' Fulham win Saturday's play-off final, claiming the Cottagers should complete the signing of Aleksandar Mitrovic for 'around £15m" this summer if they do so - a fee that seems too little to us.
The Serbian striker is not in Rafa's plans, however he's very much in Fulham's. and they will be absolutely desperate to see him sign permanently this summer - no matter what league they're in.
One thing I don't understand here is the alleged price he'll go for. He's 23, has 12 goals in 19 games for the club and is also proven at international level. In this day and age, this type of player would demand more than the £15m fee being suggested.
This comes from Lee Ryder's latest piece which looks into the players Benitez is pushing to sell this summer in a bid to trim the club's hefty wage bill, but it included this interesting few lines of Mitrovic - suggesting he'd sold for just £15m if they sealed promotion:
"The first stage of clearing the decks at St James’ Park means the club board are praying for a Fulham win over Aston Villa in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final.
"Victory for the Cottagers should see Aleksandar Mitrovic make a permanent move to the capital and bank a fee of around £15million and wages of approximately £50,000 per week."
When the likes of Andre Gray went for £20m last summer, I don't see why we shouldn't be demanding at least that for Mitrovic - especially if a potentially free-spending Fulham arrive in the Premier League following a big cash boost from promotion.
They're clearly desperate to sign him and we need the money to fund a move for a top class striker of our own this summer, so I'd surprised and a little disappointed if we only took in £15m.
There'll be plenty clubs interested (so potential for a bidding war), not forgetting an asking price of 'at least' £20m was previously touted just a few weeks ago, so I don't see why we wouldn't be pushing for more.
We hold all the cards here - let's make use of that and get the best deal possible. For £15m there's only one winner, as that won't buy us the proven striker Benitez will be after this summer.
What do you reckon? Is £15m fair or should we be demanding more?
