Mitrovic scored again for Serbia in the latest round of World Cup qualifiers – but remains a divisive figure at Newcastle United.
Aleksandar Mitrovic really doesn’t help himself. After scoring on a rare start against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup, the firebrand Serbian came off the bench to round off a comfortable 3-0 win against West Ham in the Premier League last weekend.
However, he has ruined any hopes he might have had of earning a run in the first-team after being found guilty of a needless, reckless elbow on Hammers’ playmaker Manuel Lanzini, subsequently landing a three-game ban.
Therefore, you can understand why Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez appears to lack any sort of trust in the 22-year-old.
Mitrovic started less than a quarter of Newcastle’s Championship games last season and has only featured for 18 minutes since their return to the Premier League despite a terrific goals-per-game ratio.
However, the former Anderlecht forward is showing just how explosive he can be with regular minutes under his belt at international level.
Poles apart
Mitrovic started, and scored, as Serbia took a major step towards qualifying for the World Cup with a 3-0 hammering of Moldova on Saturday, meaning he has now hit the back of the net in eight of his last nine appearances for his country including two each against Wales and Austria.
It is no coincidence that he has started the majority of those games. Mitrovic has evolved into a big-game player for Serbia and showed signs during a positive debut season in English football that he could do the same on Tyneside.
If Mitrovic, an archetypal confidence player, can replicate his international form at club level, he could be the goalscorer Newcastle need to survive. However, that rests upon whether Benitez is willing to accept the more volatile part of his personality.
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