With Arsenal linked earlier this week with a £10m bid to sign little-known Anderlecht striker Aleksandar Mitrovic this summer by the Metro, here’s a look at five facts the Gunners should know about this exciting young forward – and perhaps five reasons the club are right to be pursuing this up-and-coming talent over more established names…
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1) Ibrahimovic comparison
He’s been compared with Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic already. While these tags can end up being fairly meaningless, there’s a clear comparison to be made here, as Mitrovic is another tall, powerful, but also incredibly skillful forward who has shown his ability from a very young age, much like the Swede who has been around for what feels like forever.
2) Regular at his first club at 16
Brought into the first-team at Serbian second division side Teleoptik at the age of just 16, Mitrovic made an instant impact as a regular for the team, scoring seven goals in his first season as a professional.
3) Anderlecht’s record signing at 18
Mitrovic then earned a big move to Serbian giants Partizan Belgrade, scoring 18 goals in just 42 appearances before prompting Belgian side Anderlecht to pay a club-record fee to sign him when he was still only 18 years old. Granted, their record transfer fee may only have been £3.6m, but it certainly shows some faith in his potential that they spent so much on a youngster so unproven at the time.
4) Out-shining Lukaku
Anderlecht are a club well known for producing outstanding young players, most notably this guy above. Incredibly, Mitrovic already looks like eclipsing what Romelu Lukaku did for the Belgian side as a teenager. The powerful striker, now of Everton, scored 41 goals in 98 games for Anderlecht, while Mitrovic already has 36 strikes in just 76 appearances, a fantastic rate for one so young.
5) Just one goal for Serbia
If there are any question marks over Mitrovic, it is on the bigger stage. The 20-year-old has just one goal in eleven caps for the senior Serbian national team, and critics will point out that his superbly prolific record is coming in a much weaker league than the Premier League. Still, Arsenal fans won’t need reminding that he scored against them in the Champions League this season – many will feel that is a high enough level!