Aleksandar Mitrovic is 6ft 2ins, 14 stone and, in the words of former Newcastle United teammate Mo Diame, ‘a warrior, a real fighter’.
Why are we telling you this? Well, because Mitrovic didn’t exactly look like a 6ft-something, 90kg warrior when a stray elbow brushed his eyebrow during West Ham’s Premier League clash with Fulham back in February.
In the latter stages of a drab 0-0 draw, Fulham’s Serbian striker hit the ground quicker than Eddie Hall on a skydiving session.
Soucek was sent off in farcical circumstances too, punished with an early bath for what was quite clearly an accidental ‘collision’ – one Mitrovic certainly made the most of, much to the chagrin of the West Ham boss.
“Every footballer has the responsibility to do the right thing,” a seething David Moyes said at full-time, blaming Mitrovic for his part in a quite pathetic flashpoint that once again turned our Beautiful Game into something of a laughing stock.
It would be a step too far to call it ‘acting’ either. Mitrovic would hardly be in contention for an Oscar. A Razzie, maybe.
So, with the Sun reporting that West Ham have identified the wantaway Fulham forward as a potential solution to their striking problems, Mitrovic could be in for an awkward beginning to his claret-and-blue career.
Moyes may be willing to forgive and forget but would Soucek?
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