The Serbian forward left Newcastle United for Fulham in the summer.
Aleksandar Mitrovic arrived at Newcastle United as a player with a lot of potential but the ensuing years showed that he wasn’t going to achieve it there.
The Serbian had quickly developed a reputation as a hothead after picking up a yellow card just seconds into his debut and being sent off twice in his first season.
In the end, however, it was simply a mismatch of styles with Rafa Benitez that stalled his career at St James’ Park – something he readily admits himself.
“We just didn’t suit each other,” Mitrovic told BBC Sport.
“I didn’t suit his tactics and I didn’t really feel comfortable to play, so he couldn’t get the best out of me. But it is nothing personal – just business.”
Mitrovic has found a more suitable home with Fulham, where he’s consistently scored from the moment he first joined them on loan in January.
More than that, the 24-year-old finds life in the capital far easier to bear than Newcastle, where the club’s passionate fan-base became too much for him.
“It was really hard in Newcastle,” says Mitrovic. “It was one city, one club. Everybody there was really crazy about Newcastle.
“Sometimes it is nice, but sometimes you want to be quiet and go out with your family. When you are not happy on the field, you just don’t want to think about football, [you want to] have your space. In Newcastle, there is no chance.”
It’s an effect of football that perhaps doesn’t get talked about too much and you can understand where Mitrovic is coming from.
Newcastle certainly has a reputation as a city that’s incredibly passionate about its football team, whereas London is divided up among more football team than you can probably name.
Some players will naturally thrive on that passion – you can’t imagine Alan Shearer minded it much – but, at the end of the day, it appears that Mitrovic just wasn’t the right player for Newcastle for a good few reasons.
As much as some may regret the sale in light of his form, Mitrovic’s words prove that it was undeniably the right move for everyone.
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