Latest news with #Mitrovic
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Millwall star Mihailo Ivanovic on new season, Championship life and Aleksandar Mitrovic advice
EXCLUSIVE INTERIVEW: Millwall striker Mihailo Ivanovic is looking to fire the goals that will help the south Londoners finally crack the top-six in the Championship Morison and Gregory. Harris and Moody. Teddy and Cas. Traditionally, Millwall's best periods have come when they have a potent strike pairing firing on all cylinders. The good news for the Lions on the eve of the new Championship campaign is that strike partnerships are sexy again. Alex Neil and the south Londoners enjoyed tremendous success after pivoting to a 4-4-2 formation during the second half of the 2024-25 season and were almost rewarded with a play-off place, falling just short on the final day at Burnley. Fittingly, it was Mihailo Ivanovic whose goal propelled Millwall into that coveted sixth spot briefly before the hosts rallied at Turf Moor. And it's Ivanovic who, alongside Josh Coburn, is one half of the partnership that fans hope will be the next to go down in club folklore. The Serbian, 20, joined Millwall for £2.5million on transfer deadline day back in August. But while he was new to the Championship, England's second-tier was not new to him. "I used to watch [Aleksandar] Mitrovic play in England growing up," Ivanovic tells Mirror Football. "When I scored my first goal, I thought, yeah, I need to do this [Mitrovic's celebration] because he's my idol and he was a beast in the Championship. I hope he is not angry!" Ivanovic's rapid rise means he has gone from a young boy watching Mitrovic playing on television in Serbia to training alongside the former Fulham forward with the national team. Mitrovic, who now plies his trade in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Hilal, has shared some pearls of wisdom with his junior about living in London and the Championship, where he terrorised defences. He left these shores with villain status at The Den. The fact that fans have embraced Ivanovic and his penchant for copying the former's iconic goal celebration shows how popular the young forward is in Bermondsey. "He's helped me with places to go and not go in London," Ivanovic adds. "London is nice but it's too big! "He helped me a lot about the league because he played there as well. I've also had huge help from my team-mates and Alex Neil. He helped me adapt to the Championship a lot." After a slow start to life in the capital (he arrived injured and quickly became homesick) Ivanovic caught fire in a front two under Neil, who made the switch to try and address a dearth of goals in games. Ivanovic scored 10 goals between the end of January and May and struck up a potent pairing with Coburn. The former Middlesbrough man, 22, became Millwall's record signing this summer in a permanent deal which could reach £5million with add-ons. The captures of Coburn and Alfie Doughty, signed for a seven-figure fee from Luton Town, underline the ambition Millwall have ahead of the new campaign. Optimism is rife in Millwall quarters that Ivanovic and Coburn can fire the goals that have been lacking in recent years if they are fed adequately. In Ivanovic's case, he's already built quite the varied catalogue of goals up. For a player who names Zlatan Ibrahimovic as another idol growing up, he's shown an eye for the spectacular - and a header. "I love scoring with my head!," he quips. "I think most of my goals were headers, even in the youth teams. "That came from my father; he used to take me to play football all the time, but he was never a professional." Ivanovic's development over the course of the last 10 months has been seismic, if not linear. After getting over the metatarsal injury that plagued him following his move from Vojvodina, he was eased into Championship life by the Lions former boss, Neil Harris. That approach divided opinion at the time - and is still debated today given how close Millwall came to the play-offs last term - but Ivanovic feels he benefitted from that initial watching brief. "Probably it was [a good thing] because I got used to watching the game and learning how to do some things from the side. Then when the chance came, I took it really well, I think, and started playing." That is indisputable. The slew of links to clubs in the Premier League and Italy are testament to that and such talk will only continue if Ivanovic picks up where he left off this year. For Millwall, that can only be a good thing: their emphasis on an effective player trading model has already seen them recoup a record eight-figure transfer fee for academy graduate Romain Esse and smash their incoming transfer record three times in the last 12 months. The Lions are on an upward trajectory with a head coach in Neil who has a track record of delivering promotions. The impressive Scot, Ivanovic feels, could be Millwall's real trump card. "With Alex Neil everything is possible," Ivanovic concludes. "When he came into the team [he] changed everything. We were looking a better team when he came in and we had more chances [in games]. "We didn't have luck last season to hit the top six but next season we will give everything to go up there." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Man Utd join Spurs and Newcastle in race for experienced goalscorer
Mitrovic Links Expose Familiar Failings in Premier League's Transfer Obsession There is something oddly poetic about Aleksandar Mitrovic's name resurfacing across Premier League rumour columns in late July. The 30-year-old Serbian, scorer of 28 goals and provider of 7 assists last season at Al Hilal, is once again being cast as the missing puzzle piece for three of England's top-flight clubs. Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United have all been credited with interest, as reported by Caught Offside. And as always, the subtext is not about potential, but about problems. Photo IMAGO Newcastle's nostalgia and Saudi convenience At St James' Park, the Mitrovic discourse is framed with a hint of nostalgia. Caught Offside notes that Newcastle 'want to build an alternative structure around Alexander Isak,' and view Mitrovic's 'Premier League experience and physical strength' as compatible. Sentiment is never far from the surface either, with Mitrovic having 'openly expressed his love for the club in the past.' There's a practicality here too. The Saudi Public Investment Fund owns both Newcastle and Al Hilal. The mechanics of a deal would likely be as seamless as Mitrovic's physical hold-up play. But sentimentality and convenience are not strategies. They are distractions. Spurs searching for presence Over in North London, Tottenham are reportedly considering Mitrovic as an 'alternative to Dominic Solanke.' With Richarlison fading and Son Heung-min's form dipping, Spurs are said to want 'another striker' to bolster their offensive line. The logic feels reductive. Is the plan simply to throw a muscular striker into the mix and hope the goals sort themselves out? Photo IMAGO Mitrovic 'knows the Premier League well,' but so do dozens of others who have oscillated between mid-table and mediocrity. The €30 million asking price may be 'affordable,' but can Tottenham afford another signing that feels like a compromise? United's search for something that works Manchester United are, predictably, also interested. 'Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have been underwhelming,' the article claims. Mitrovic, by contrast, offers 'a handy option.' There is no doubt United need goals, but that need has been pressing since Zlatan Ibrahimović was scoring headers with a grimace. Photo IMAGO Yet the word 'option' feels telling. Mitrovic is no longer the statement. He is the compromise that clubs make when their planning has failed them. Our View – EPL Index Analysis From a Newcastle perspective, re-signing Mitrovic feels like a backwards step. It's easy to romanticise his time at the club, but building a modern attack around Isak and then supplementing it with a 30-year-old battering ram seems like an identity crisis waiting to happen and then there's the elephant in the room, can they keep Isak? Spurs fans have seen this story before. Cheap, experienced, available. But do any of those words scream ambition? Mitrovic as an 'alternative' to Solanke makes you question the depth of the scouting department. And then there's United. Forever lurching between youth projects and panic buys. If Mitrovic is the answer, what was the question? This club has spent hundreds of millions on potential and now appears to be flirting with past-it pragmatism. Mitrovic is a good striker, no doubt. But if he ends up at any of these clubs, it won't be because he was Plan A. It will be because, yet again, the plan ran out of steam.
New York Times
04-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Striker scouting for West Ham United: Analysing Calvert-Lewin, Mitrovic and other No 9s
West Ham United's perennial pursuit of a striker continues, with Niclas Fullkrug the only recognised centre-forward available to head coach Graham Potter. A quick look at West Ham's first-team squad page on their club website shows Michail Antonio's profile but his contract expired on June 30, ending his 10-year spell in east London. Although the club are yet to formally announce his departure, Potter and head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay have been tasked with finding a replacement. Advertisement There is a long list of failed attacking signings at West Ham and the striker position remains the club's Achilles' heel. Fullkrug is the latest example of their toils: signed for £27million ($37m) from Borussia Dortmund last summer, the 32-year-old has struggled with injuries. So, who could the club target to give them another No 9 option? The Athletic has taken a speculative leap and analysed several strikers that would fit the bill, including one previously linked to West Ham but coveted by the Premier League's top clubs. At 30, his best years could be behind him, but Mitrovic's goalscoring record remains impressive. Since joining Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal in 2023, he has registered 68 goals in 79 appearances in all competitions. He has a similar skill set to Fullkrug but Mitrovic's injury record is better. The Serbia international scored 111 goals in 206 appearances during his five-year spell at Fulham, including a Championship-record 43 goals in the 2021-22 season. Mitrovic hasn't featured for Al Hilal at this summer's Club World Cup due to injury but his Premier League experience would be favourable to West Ham. It is not uncommon for the club to target older players. Last summer, West Ham had a verbal offer of £15m rejected by Al Ittihad for midfielder N'Golo Kante, then 33. Defender Craig Dawson joined aged 30 from Watford in 2020 and became a fan favourite. Mitrovic's ability to find the net has not waned since his switch to Saudi Arabia. He remains a reliable focal point up front and, as we can see from the table below, he has continued to plunder goals at an excellent rate. Potter had success at Brighton & Hove Albion with Danny Welbeck as his lone striker. The forward was still productive, despite turning 30 shortly after they linked up in 2020. Although Potter wants to work with a younger core this season, Mitrovic's track record would be hard to ignore if he could be tempted back to the Premier League. West Ham lacked the speed to launch fast breaks last season, so Emegha, Strasbourg's 22-year-old forward, could be an interesting addition. Using SkillCorner data and a metric known as 'Peak Sprint Velocity 99th percentile' (PSV-99, which reflects the top speed of a player and their ability to consistently reach or sustain it), Emegha ranks as Europe's fastest centre-forward under the age of 25. Advertisement Emegha has scored 22 league goals from 55 appearances across his two seasons at Strasbourg. With Potter in need of a prolific forward, Emegha's goal-poacher profile would help accelerate the rebuild at London Stadium. Using Opta data (via FBref), we can build a picture of Emegha's skill set. His playstyle wheel (below) breaks down his game into defence, possession, progression and attack, weighted across Europe's top five leagues. Much like other pizza charts from The Athletic, Emegha has been given a percentile rating between zero and 99 for each metric. The higher the number, the more frequently — or efficiently — the player performs this action compared with his positional peers. From his wheel, we can see how Emegha, who has scored regularly for the Netherlands at youth level, consistently gets himself into good scoring positions (the blue spikes above). Crysencio Summerville, who joined from Leeds United last year, showed flashes of his talent last season but beyond him, West Ham have not had much luck with players from the Netherlands. Goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw made zero appearances during his single season at the club 13 years ago and Marco Boogers is better known for his tackle on Manchester United defender Gary Neville than his four games up front in 1995. Jeroen Boere and Raymond Atteveld also struggled to make impacts during the 1990s but Emegha has the tools to be an exception. Of all targets listed, Calvert-Lewin's arrival might be the most realistic. The 28-year-old is available as a free agent following the end of his nine-year spell at Everton, where he scored 71 goals in 274 appearances. It would be an easy move for West Ham to make, given Calvert-Lewin and Potter have the same agent. Calvert-Lewin enjoyed his best season in 2020-21, scoring 16 goals in 33 Premier League games to earn a place in the England squad that reached a European Championship final that summer. Since then, he has struggled to build any form due to a succession of hamstring injuries. The former Sheffield United striker competes for a lot of headers and stays on the last line to receive the ball, as his playstyle wheel below highlights via his 'Aerial volume' ranking (91 out of 99) and his 'Progressive receptions' (75). History tells us that Calvert-Lewin's sole focus is to be an attacking threat, which means he is often less inclined to create for others, barring his flick-ons while contesting headers. He registered 22 assists during his time at Everton. He is also unlikely to drop deep and dictate play but he has a willingness to spearhead the attack with shots to finish off moves ('Shot frequency', 80) and stay between the width of the goalposts ('Box threat', 75). A change of scene could benefit Calvert-Lewin. Recent examples of West Ham players who rekindled their form after seasons of stagnation include Jesse Lingard, who joined on loan from Manchester United in the second half of the 2020-21 campaign, scoring nine goals in 16 appearances, and last season's club player of the year, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who excelled in his debut season following a summer switch from Old Trafford. A move to the London Stadium could give Calvert-Lewin's career a similar jump-start. The 23-year-old striker has been on West Ham's radar for some time, first contacting his representatives over a potential transfer in 2023. Ekitike was still at Paris Saint-Germain that summer but West Ham did not make a bid, and he ended up joining Eintracht Frankfurt. The Athletic has previously reported how Ekitike has interested Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, and Frankfurt value him at €100m (£83.9m; $114m), making him by far the most hypothetical target on this list. Advertisement Nonetheless, he would bring some much-needed youth and energy to Potter's squad. After struggling to make an impact at PSG, Ekitike had a breakthrough 2024-25 season at Frankfurt. He registered 22 goals and 12 assists across 48 appearances, earning a place in the Bundesliga team of the year. He is a sought-after talent. Ekitike thrived in the 3-4-2-1, 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-3 systems Frankfurt manager Dino Toppmoller deployed, enabling the former France Under-21 international to be the only centre-forward in Europe's top five leagues last season to take more than 200 touches in the opposition penalty box. The striker has a huge double threat from a creative and attacking perspective. His playstyle wheel above indicates an eagerness to carry the ball forward ('Dribble volume', 95 out of 99) and a consistent 'Goal threat' (92). Given Ekitike's skill set, it is no surprise that West Ham identified him as Antonio's long-term successor two years ago. Whatever West Ham's transfer strategy this summer, it seems likely that they'll need to target a striker or two to complement their current one-man strike force. However, securing a deal for the right man will be easier said than done. (Top photos: Emanuel Emegha, left, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin; Getty Images)
New York Post
27-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Meet Luka Mitrovic, the 32-year-old 2015 draftee acquired in Knicks' second-round swap
The Knicks got a surprising addition in a pick swap with the Clippers during the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft — the rights to a 32-year-old from Serbia. Luka Mitrovic, who was originally drafted by the 76ers with the No. 60 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, was included in the trade between the Knicks and Clippers that saw New York move down to No. 51 and take Mohamed Diawara on Thursday night. Since being drafted by Philadelphia a decade ago, Mitrovic has bounced around numerous professional teams in Europe, and was most recently a member of KK Crvena zvezda's ABA League and EuroLeague teams for the 2024-25 season, where he played in 47 games. 3 Luka Mitrovic shoots during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 34 match between Panathinaikos Athens and Crvena Zvezda MeridianBet Belgrade at OAKA on April 11, 2025 in Athens, Greece. Euroleague Basketball via Getty Despite remaining in Europe since his draft selection, the rights to Mitrovic have been involved in two NBA trades, first being dealt to the Kings just weeks after being selected in a deal that sent Carl Landry, Jason Thompson and Nik Stauskas to the Sixers. Mitrovic was then sent to the Clippers midway through the 2023-24 season in exchange for Filip Petrusev, a former teammate of his on Crvena zvezda. The Serbian started his professional basketball career when he was just 17, signing a deal with Hemofarm in Serbia for the 2010-11 season. 3 Luka Mitrovic in action during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Play-in B match between FC Bayern Munich and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade at SAP Garden on April 15, 2025 in Munich, Germany. Euroleague Basketball via Getty Mitrovic spent five seasons playing for Crvena zvezda from 2012-13 to 2016-17 before joining the team again for 2021-22. It remains unclear if the Knicks will bring Mitrovic over to the United States, with the deal most likely being for salary cap purposes, as his contract does not go against the cap unless signed. 3 Luka Mitrovic celebrates after winning the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 17 match between Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at Belgrade Arena on Dec. 20, 2024 in Belgrade, Serbia. Euroleague Basketball via Getty With the No. 51 pick of Thursday's draft, the Knicks ultimately selected Diawara, a French forward. Diawara, 20, last played for Cholet Basket in the LNB Pro A league in France, and averaged 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 27 games. He also reportedly has a 7-foot-4 wingspan and a 9-foot-2 standing reach.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Al-Hilal not giving up on Osimhen transfer
Al-Hilal have not given up hope of signing Victor Osimhen this summer despite the forward rejecting a move to the Saudi Pro League side this month. Osimhen turned down a lucrative offer from Al-Hilal earlier in the transfer window, as the Saudi side sought to make a marquee addition before the FIFA Club World Cup. The Nigerian is understood to be keen on remaining in Europe, with several sides pursuing a deal. Galatasaray are keen to sign the 26-year-old permanently after Osimhen's loan spell in Istanbul last season. Advertisement Osimhen scored 37 goals in 41 games to fire Galatasaray to a Turkish league and cup double, setting a new single-season record for an overseas player. The Turkish champions are in negotiations with Napoli over a permanent transfer, but require the €75m release clause to be paid in multiple instalments. Napoli are keen for the instalments to be as few as possible. Premier League teams also remain in the race, with Chelsea and Manchester United linked. Meanwhile, Juventus have made contact in recent days. However, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Al-Hilal are not giving up in their pursuit of the player. The Saudi outfit remain keen to land Osimhem this summer with new head coach Simone Inzaghi having given the green light to the deal. Advertisement Should Osimhen arrive in the Middle East, it will pave the path for former Fulham forward Aleksandar Mitrovic to leave Al-Hilal. The Serbian striker has been linked with a Premier League return. Mitrovic has scored 68 goals in 79 games for Al-Hilal over the last two campaigns. West Ham are rumoured to be interested. Read – Nick Woltemade: The German giant Europe's top clubs are tracking See more – Is Benjamin Sesko the answer for Arsenal this summer? Follow The Football Faithful on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok
