Horrible day for Silva: His team cannot score, and his only goalscorer is leaving to Saudi Arabia

Fulham's striker, Aleksandar Mitrovic, is on the verge of joining Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League on a reported three-year contact. Despite facing two rejected offers earlier in the transfer window, the 28-year-old forward, valued around $45 million, made his intentions clear to depart for the Gulf state.

Undeterred by the setbacks, Al-Hilal remain resolute in their pursuit and are anticipated to finalize the deal at approximately $60 million. Interestingly, this development coincides with Neymar's transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal, a move that fetched a staggering $98 million.

Mitrovic was absent from the matchday squad in the recent London derby against Brentford on Saturday. While Fulham's manager, Marco Silva, attributed his absence to a minor ankle injury sustained against Everton the previous weekend, he refrained from discussing Mitrovic's longer-term future. Just last week, Silva emphatically stated that the player was fully dedicated to Fulham.

But the former Newcastle and Anderlecht striker's head has been turned by the huge offer coming from the middle east - and he couldn't be forced to stay. On the day Silva's team fell to a worrying defeat to the Bees without finding the net, the Portuguese coach is resigned to losing his only proven goalscorer.

Having secured a tenth-place finish in the previous season, Fulham and Silva had anticipated a surge in interest for their players on the transfer market.

"We had to be ready as a club for the consequences from the season that we had. If you perform as we did, if you do something that no one expected, something great, of course, this club is probably receiving more offers than ever."

In total, the Serbian international has scored 111 goals in 206 appearances for the Cottagers over the past seven years. His most efficient campaign was in 2021/22 when he scored 43 goals in 44 EFL Championship games. Last season, Mitro got 15 goals.