The last thing that Fulham need ahead of their 2023/24 Premier League campaign is a player that has effectively gone on strike.
In this day and age, no argument should remain unsolvable, however, for Aleksandar Mitrovic, the club’s valuation of him has seen his dream of a move to the Saudi Pro League evaporate.
According to Sky Sports, the striker has indicated that he never wants to play for the club again, even though he has been persuaded to go on their pre-season tour.
Al Hilal have failed with two bids for the Serbian and that is in no small part down to the £52m valuation that the Cottagers have put on the 28-year-old’s head.
Mitrovic is well known for being a spiky character, as his outburst against Man United in the FA Cup, which saw him red carded, shows.
If he insists on leaving or, at the very least, not playing for the club, it’s a big problem for manager, Marco Silva.
Last season, according to the official Fulham website, Mitrovic top-scored with a career-best 14 goals. The next highest scorers at the club were Carlos Vinicius and Willian, but they only managed five each.
It’s a delicate situation at the moment but one that really needs to be addressed sooner rather than later because the west Londoners can’t possibly countenance starting the Premier League season with their best player nowhere to be seen.