Mitrovic frozen out by Benitez but is Newcastle boss being too hasty?

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Brighton are interested in Aleksandar Mitrovic but should Newcastle cast him out quite so quickly?

Aleksandar Mitrovic of Newcastle United celebrates scoring his side’s third goal during the Premier League match against West Ham United.

Brighton and Hove Albion are considering a January move for Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, according to the Mirror, as they look to improve their fortunes in front of goal.

Seagulls manager Chris Hughton sent scouts to watch Mitrovic play in Serbia’s 3-2 World Cup qualification defeat to Austria – a campaign in which the 23-year-old has scored six goals for his country.

Aleksandar Mitrovic of Serbia celebrates the victory after FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier against Georgia.

Brighton could well be successful as well, with Magpies boss Rafa Benitez said to have frozen out the forward having finally lost patience with him for an off the ball elbow on Manuel Lanzini during the 3-0 Premier League victory against West Ham United.

That earned Mitrovic a three-match ban, but even after his return the Serb was still left out of the squad entirely for the 1-1 draw with Liverpool before the recent international break.

However, with two-and-a-half months still remaining until the January transfer window and the chance to sign new attackers, is Benitez being too hasty in casting out someone who is actually his best source of goals?

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez arrives for the English Premier League football match against Brighton and Hove Albion.

Mitrovic has a scoring record in England’s top tier of 1 in 3.5 games having netted ten times in 35 matches. This is far superior to Benitez’s other options upfront in Dwight Gayle, Joselu (both 1 in 4.6) and Ayoze Perez (1 in 5.9).

This season Mitrovic has scored in both his appearances for Newcastle and while discipline remains an issue, with threat in the final third a potential problem for the North East outfit it would seem that dismissing their most prolific scorer this early could be a mistake.