Aleksandar Mitrovic had been linked with a move away from Newcastle United all summer long.
Newcastle United supporters may not agree but Rafael Benitez appears to be quite happy with his forward options with just two weeks remaining in the transfer window.
The Magpies have added only Stoke City forward Joselu, who has just four Premier League goals to his name, to their attacking ranks this summer but, in the words of the manager, “more or less, we are fine”, as reported by The Chronicle.
Whether Benitez is genuinely content with the strikers at his disposal, or whether he is merely accepting that the club is unlikely to add any more additions to his squad, is up for debate.
Either way, it appears that an attacking triumvirate of Joselu, Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic will be relied upon to score the goals required to ensure Newcastle are not at risk of a second relegation in the space of two years.
And the fact that Mitrovic is now likely to remain at St James’ Park has come as something of a shock.
Sign of desperation?
And Benitez adds that, at this late stage of the window, only a ‘very good offer’ would be enough to convince him to part with a potentially important member of his squad.
As such, it looks like Benitez will be forced to rely on a striker he only trusted to start 11 Championship games last season. However, the cynics may point out that this is because he has no real alternative with Newcastle failing to land a number of his attacking targets.
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