Deadline day transfer frustrating for Newcastle, but at least they didn’t copy West Ham’s mistake

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Aleksandar Mitrovic has thrived for Fulham since joining on loan from Newcastle United.

Newcastle United have been forced to watch on as striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has thrived since being sent on loan to Fulham, whereas replacement Islam Slimani has yet to even make his Magpies debut.

Having been frozen out by manager Rafael Benitez this season, striker Mitrovic looked set for a January exit, and that finally came on deadline day when Championship side Fulham swooped to sign him on loan until the end of the season.

The 23-year-old Serbian may be a favourite among fans, but he did little to convince Benitez that he could be the answer to Newcastle’s goalscoring problems, despite the patchy form of both Dwight Gayle and Joselu.

Now, Mitrovic has bagged five goals in four games for Fulham, including a brace in Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Sheffield United, aiding the Cottagers’ promotion bid whilst Newcastle are still waiting for Slimani to make his debut.

Seeing Mitrovic find the net with such regularity whilst their star striker signing sits in the stands has to be a source of frustration for Newcastle, but they are at least safe in the knowledge that Mitrovic’s goals aren’t coming for a Premier League rival.

Had Mitrovic been scoring for another team mired in the Premier League relegation battle, then his goals would have been all the more galling – and West Ham United have made that exact mistake.

Forward Andre Ayew was allowed to leave West Ham for Swansea City on deadline day in January, and came back to haunt his former club with a superb display in Swansea’s 4-1 win over the Hammers on Saturday afternoon, contributing an assist and even winning a penalty against David Moyes’ side.

Swansea have now leapfrogged West Ham in the Premier League table with Ayew’s help, and the Hammers must now watch on as the Ghanaian attempts to keep Swansea in the top flight, potentially at West Ham’s expense.

The Hammers may well live to regret selling Ayew to a rival in the middle of the season rather than waiting until the summer, whereas Newcastle at least know that Mitrovic’s goals for Fulham won’t directly impact their hopes of staying in the Premier League this season.