Tim Ream is delighted that Aleksandar Mitrovic has committed his future to Fulham – and admits he has the bruises to prove that the Serbian striker is a force to be reckoned with.

The former Newcastle United forward signed a new five-year contract at Craven Cottage on Friday and celebrated by scoring as Marco Silva’s saw off Stoke City to stay top of the table this weekend. Ream can sympathise with rival defenders after having to try and stop Mitrovic during training sessions at Motspur Park and believes the in-form striker that help the Whites return to the top flight at the very first attempt.

The stand-in Fulham skipper told the Daily Mail:

“He’s a handful to deal with, he causes so much trouble. He’s not someone we enjoy dealing with in training. In training, he puts everything in and I have the bruises to prove it. I stay away from him as much as possible! I know what he brings … I want to be fully fit and not in pain coming into games!

“When you know he’s on his game, everything is going to come off. You can play the ball to him and it will stick or he can play someone in. If you put the right guys around him in games, it’s a dangerous combination. We knew Mitrovic was staying before the contract announcement — it shows he is committed to the cause, and he’s proved it in the last three or four games.”

Ream reckons that all of his team-mates have the bit between their teeth after the disappointment of being relegated from the Premier League under Scott Parker last season.

“The entire squad has something to prove this season, not just Mitrovic. We want to be at the top of this division. We have put in the hard yards and we want to stay there. Getting relegated the way we did last season was embarrassing. We all have something to prove, not just one or two guys. We all came into pre-season with chips on our shoulders.”