Last month, West Ham United were linked with making a summer move for Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The Serbian forward has been the Cottagers’ star performer all season, leading the club in goals scored and saving their disastrous season from being much worse.
It appears that Mitrovic is likely to depart SW6 after Fulham drop down to the Championship, but one statistic from the striker’s play should worry potential suitors like West Ham.
The striker is not afraid to try his luck in front of goal, registering a total of 127 shots on target this season, second only to Mohamed Salah.
However, Mitrovic has scored just 11 goals all season — a success rate of netting only 8.7% of his overall shots.
The low conversion rate (Salah is scoring 16.4% of his shots on target) is partly down to Fulham’s over-reliance on the 24-year-old, which forces the striker to take more shots than he normally might.
Nevertheless, the profligate nature of Mitrovic’s shooting must cause concern at West Ham, as the club is in search of a clinical striker who can bang in 20 goals a season.
For all of his superb attacking qualities — strength, aerial prowess, and good movement — his accuracy leaves much to be desired.
West Ham must take that into account when considering whether to splash the cash on the centre-forward this summer.
