Former Premier League manager and EFL on Quest pundit Ian Holloway has suggested that he believes Aleksander Mitrovic could break the Championship goal scoring record this season.
Mitrovic has enjoyed an excellent start to the season for Fulham in front of goal with the Serbia international managing to fire home 12 goals in his opening 12 league appearances.
That comes after he managed to register a brace for Fulham in their impressive 4-1 win against QPR at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The Championship goal scoring record was only broken last season by Ivan Toney. The forward fired home 31 league goals for Brentford during the regular season on the way to helping his side secure promotion to the Premier League.
At the moment, though, Mitrovic is on track to beat that kind of goal return with him continuing to average one goal per game so far this season for Fulham.
Speaking to EFL on Quest, Holloway lauded Mitrovic and suggested that he could well be the best striker that the Championship has ever witnessed. He also backs him to reach 34 goals for the campaign and that would see him break the league’s record.
He said: “He’s scored 50 goals in 69 appearances (in the Championship). Is there a better Championship striker than him ever? That touch was sublime and the strike moving away from goal, look at the pace he got on that. He’s unplayable at times.
“He’s also missed quite a few as well, he missed about three at Bristol City the other week and they only drew. I’m saying easily 34 (goals this season). He’s only got to get another 22.â€
The verdict
If Mitrovic can remain fully fit for the rest of the season then there is no reason why Holloway’s prediction here should prove to be wrong.
The forward looks to be pretty much unstoppable at the moment for most defences with him coming into the prime years of his career now.
The Serbia international has already shown that he can sustain regular scoring form over a full Championship season and it just seems that this time around his game is even better. That has to be daunting for the rest of the league.
Toney was exceptional for Brentford last season and it did seem like his record would take a long time to beat. However, it might very well turn out that his record lasts just a single season if Mitrovic can carry on with his irrepressible form.
It would be remarkable if the forward could reach the 34 goal mark as Holloway predicts here but at the moment you would not rule that out.