Born: Smederevo, Serbia, 16 September 1994
Position: Centre forward
International caps: 79
International goals: 52
Signed: 31 January 2018 from Newcastle United (loan); 30 July 2018 from Newcastle United (£22m)
Fulham debut: Fulham 2-0 Nottingham Forest, 3 February 2018
Fulham appearances: 206
Fulham goals: 111
Honours: EFL Championship winner (2021-22), EFL Championship play-off final winner (2018; 2020).
Sold: 19 August 2023 to Al-Hilal (£45m).
Aleksandar Mitrovic made an immediate impact after arriving at Craven Cottage on loan from Newcastle in February 2018, firing Fulham to promotion via the play-offs with twelve goals in sixteen games. Serbia’s all-time leading goalscorer moved to SW6 late on transfer deadline day after seeing a return to former club Anderlecht fall through, but he was delighted to be reunited with his compatriot Slavisa Jokanovic.
Mitrovic scored a creditable eleven goals in 39 games as Fulham failed to compete in the top flight in 2018/2019, but fired in 26 goals in 41 appearances as they bounced back straightaway the following season. He was benched bewilderingly by Scott Parker as the Whites needed goals to stay up in 2020 and considered leaving the club before being convinced to stay by Marco Silva. The talismanic number nine went on to break Guy Whittingham’s post-war second tier scoring record by plundering 43 goals in 46 appearances and ended any debate about his effectiveness in the top flight, finding the net fourteen times in 24 games the following year.
Mitrovic’s only red card for Fulham came in controversial circumstances at Old Trafford when Manchester-based referee Chris Kavanagh sent off Willian, Silva and Mitrovic in the space of ninety seconds as the Whites surrendered a lead the Serbian striker had given them to crash out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage. Mitrovic was banned for ten games and, although he returned to a hero’s welcome at Southampton towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign, the talismanic number nine’s time in SW6 came to an acrimonious end when he forced through a £45m move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in August 2023. His final appearance came as a substitute on the opening day of the season – when Silva’s side secured a scrappy 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park.
