Fulham News Latest: Aleksandar Mitrovic is surprised by the valuation Fulham has placed on him to fend off potential buyers
Aleksandar Mitrovic, a striker for Fulham, is embroiled in a contentious dispute with the organization as he pursues a transfer to Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia. The Serbian attacker accuses Fulham’s management of overvaluing him at a startling £52 million, a sum that has prevented his planned transfer to the wealthy Middle Eastern team.
The 28-year-old Mitrovic is eager to emulate Wolves’ Ruben Neves, who recently completed a high-profile £47 million transfer to the Saudi team. Mitrovic has the chance to increase his current weekly income of £120,000 by joining Al-Hilal. However, Fulham has previously turned down two official offers from Al-Hilal, including a huge £34 million deal, as they are hesitant to go with their talismanic striker.
Mitrovic has reportedly vowed to go on strike to force through the transfer to Al-Hilal because he is so annoyed by the standoff. According to Sky Sports, the striker has even told his relatives that he won’t ever play for Fulham again. Pini Zahavi, Mitrovic’s agent, and representatives from the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) had to step in to convince him to stay on Marco Silva’s team.
Despite this, Aleksandar Mitrovic will unwillingly board the team’s flight for the United States on Thursday, although it is still unclear what his future at Fulham will hold. Tony Khan, the head of football operations at Fulham, has been urged by Zahavi to reassess the asking price and reduce it to a range between £35 million and £45 million.
Al-Hilal has undergone major changes as a result of a significant cash infusion after being taken over by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund earlier in the summer. The club has already made some marquee signings, including Ruben Neves from Wolves, as well as Mitrovic’s Serbia teammate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio and Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly, all for a combined sum of nearly £100 million.
Since joining Fulham from Newcastle in 2018 for £25 million, Mitrovic has been a productive striker for the Cottagers, netting 111 goals in 205 games. His contract with Fulham runs until June 2026. The Serbian’s talent on the field has not gone unnoticed, and Al-Hilal is eager to hire him after their failed attempts to entice Romelu Lukaku away from Chelsea.
Al-Hilal’s involvement has already caused a commotion at Craven Cottage. They announced their intention to hire Fulham manager Marco Silva last month and made an eye-popping £17 million contract offer to him. Silva turned down the alluring offer, and Al-Hilal finally chose to hire veteran countryman Jorge Jesus.
Fulham’s other worries stem from the fact that Joao Palhinha is also drawing a lot of attention. West Ham’s Declan Rice may be replaced by Palhinha after West Ham has had a £45 million proposal for Palhinha rejected.
Fulham is aggressively looking for reinforcements in the transfer market. For Calvin Bassey, a defender, they have made an offer of £15 million to Ajax. They are also interested in Callum Hudson-Odoi of Chelsea and Timothy Castagne of Leicester.
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