Marco Silva is seeking a replacement for Aleksandar Mitrovic among "four or five players" after the Serbia striker left Fulham, with the club having accepted a bid, reportedly for £46million from Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
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The Serbian striker was missing from Fulham’s squad for Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Brentford, and will now link up with Neymar at his new team.
Silva said after the match: “About his future, he’s on his way to leave the club.
“I got information before the match and now the confirmation from the club after the match that he’s on his way to leave the club. Both clubs got an agreement and now is the moment to finish with Mitrovic in our club.
“As you know, he forced everything to leave the club. He wanted to leave the club. Until the moment we had a financial agreement, we kept him in our club.
“They have reached an agreement and now is the moment for us to keep playing and working with our team.”
Shortly afterwards Fulham confirmed Mitrovic's sale, adding they "had reluctantly accepted a revised offer as the player had consistently made his desire to leave known".
The Club can confirm that Aleksandar Mitrović has this evening left to join Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League for a Club record transfer fee.
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) August 19, 2023
Leading the line
Mitrovic played a crucial role in Fulham’s promotion back to the Premier League during the 2021/22 season, scoring a record 43 goals in a single Championship campaign.
His relentlessness did not let up as he moved up a division, registering 14 goals in 24 top-flight appearances in the 2022/23 season.
In total, across his six Premier League seasons with Newcastle United and Fulham, Mitrovic scored 38 goals and provided 11 assists in 129 matches.
'Four or five players' sought
Silva said he would look to replace Mitrovic, as one of "four or five" signings before the transfer window closes on 1 September.
“The striker market is not an easy one,” Silva said. “We are going to do our best to do it, to find the right player to replace him [Mitrovic].
"I am 100 per cent sure we are going to invest.”