Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez wants Alexsandar Mitrovic to score 20-25 goals in his Fulham loan spell and work his way back into the Spaniard’s first team plans.

Mitrovic joined the Cottagers in the final hour of the January Transfer Window after his move to Anderlecht fell through - meaning that Slavisa Jokanovic got a striker, something he had wanted all month.

It’s certainly a move that has excited the fans, and now the Newcastle boss has challenged the Serbian to go out and prove his worth while he’s at the Cottage and to come back to St James’ Park and challenge for a first team spot.

He said: “My relationship with him is fine. He’s a nice lad.

“You pick your team. I don’t need to worry about my ego. I have won trophies around the world and I don’t need to be worried about my ego.

“My priority to win games. You pick your team thinking: ‘This is the best team for me’.

“It was clear that he wanted and needed to play games. Now he has an opportunity. Hopefully, he’ll score 20 or 25 goals.

“We’ll be happy with that. He’ll have more value. He will come here and say: ‘I’m a new player, you have to trust me because I’ve scored 25 goals.’ Fine, no problem.”

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