During the January transfer window, both Arsenal and Tottenham were heavily linked with Dusan Vlahovic.
Unfortunately for both north London clubs, the Serbian ended up joining Juventus, while Arsenal and Spurs’ hunt for a new striker continues.
However, while Vlahovic was seen as a key target for both teams, there’s another Serbian striker who may actually be even better than the 22-year-old.
Of course, we’re talking about Aleksandar Mitrovic.
We recognise that It’s incredibly audacious to claim that a Championship striker is at the same level as Serie A’s second-highest scorer, but is there really that big of a gulf between the two divisions?
Strikers who have been relatively ok in the Championship have gone on to shine in Europe’s top leagues in the past.
Look at someone like Christian Stuani. He hit seven goals in 36 Championship games for Middlesbrough before banging in 40 in two seasons for Girona in La Liga – a league ranked higher than Serie A in UEFA’s eyes.
It’s a similar story for Martin Braithwaite who could barely make an impact for Boro, but he’s now been a regular for Barcelona for a number of seasons.
While Braithwaite and Stuani faltered in the Championship, Mitrovic has proven himself to be the greatest striker that division has ever seen. He broke Ivan Toney’s 31-goal record this week, and with 14 games to go, he’s expected to hit more than 40 league goals this term.
Mitrovic is so much more than just a finisher as well. He has seven assists to his name in the Championship, while his link-up play is also absolutely fantastic.
Watch his pre-assist against Manchester City in the FA Cup from last month. He played a picture-perfect one-touch long-range pass on the turn against arguably the best team in the world to set up a move that would lead to a goal – this striker isn’t just a poacher by any stretch of the imagination.
The fact that Mitrovic regularly keeps Vlahovic out of the Serbia starting XI is also incredibly telling of his talents, and even before Vlahovic burst onto the scene last year, Fulham’s talisman was still being picked ahead of Luka Jovic – a striker Real Madrid paid £50m for.
Yes, you could point towards the fact that Mitrovic’s Premier League record isn’t incredible, but back in 2018/19, he hit a very respectable 11 goals for a poor Fulham outfit.
Meanwhile Scott Parker’s team last season were perhaps the most anti-attacking side the English top-flight has ever seen – scoring a record low of just nine goals at home in 19 games, so is it a surprise that the Serbian struggled?
and as this term has shown, if he’s given quality service, he will find the back of the net time and time (and time) again.
Vlahovic is one of the hottest properties in Europe at the moment, but if Arsenal or Tottenham looked a little closer to home, they’d find a Serbian striker who would have been cheaper and potentially just as good.
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