Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has hailed Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has told Football.London that he felt striker Aleksandar Mitrovic was the stand-out performer when Fulham beat Derby County last week.
Having trailed 1-0 from the first leg of their Championship play-off final clash, Fulham had to turn things around against the Rams at Craven Cottage – and did just that.
Goals from Ryan Sessegnon and Dennis Odoi handed Fulham a 2-1 win and a passage into the Championship play-off final, where they will meet Aston Villa for a place in the Premier League.
Slavisa Jokanovic’s men have been sensational in 2018, and a large part of their success is down to striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has starred since his loan move from Newcastle United on deadline day in January.
The Serbian hitman is a complete outcast at Newcastle having failed to convince Rafael Benitez, but he has dazzled with Fulham, hitting 12 goals in 19 games under compatriot Jokanovic.
Mitrovic is likely to be up for sale this summer, and Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has now told Football.London that he felt Mitrovic produced the best target man performance for some time, comparing him to Newcastle legend Alan Shearer.
“They have Mitrovic, who probably produced the best display of target play I have seen for a long while the other night, using his body well to hold the ball up and either turn the defender, or bring others into the play – a bit like Alan Shearer really,” he added.
Given a lack of goals from Christian Benteke and Alexander Sorloth, Palace may well be in the market for a new striker this summer, and it would be little surprise to see Hodgson launch a move for Mitrovic this summer – and with Newcastle unlikely to put up much resistance, a deal certainly seems possible for Palace if they pursue it.
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