Yahoo Sport 
Serbia: England must be wary of 'monster' Aleksandar Mitrovic after stellar Saudi season
When clubs in Saudi Arabia spent more than £700million on signings last summer, few predicted Aleksandar Mitrovic would be the pick of the bunch.
Karim Benzema, Neymar and Riyad Mahrez were tipped to be stars, but Mitrovic has outshone them all by scoring 40 goals in a brilliant season.
The Serbia striker has taken the Saudi Pro League by storm after leaving Fulham for Al-Hilal and will be the biggest threat to England in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday.
Those who have watched him up close in Saudi believe the 29-year-old is as dangerous as ever.
"He has been nothing sort of sensational," says journalist Matt Monaghan, a contributor to Arab News, an English-language daily newspaper in Saudi Arabia. "For me, he was the signing of the season. And, when you look at the players that were brought in last summer, that's some accolade.
"He has just been an absolute monster up front. I think he will be a real handful for England's centre-backs."
Key to Mitrovic's success in Saudi has been his partnership with Serbia team-mate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who left Lazio to join Al-Hilal last summer.
The pair played together for Serbia youth sides and have a good relationship on and off the pitch, with Mitrovic's hold-up play allowing midfielder Milinkovic-Savic to have an impact with runs from deep.
Benzema, Neymar and Mahrez were tipped to be stars, but Mitrovic has outshone them all by scoring 40 goals
They form part of a powerful Serbian side, which also contains Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic. At 6ft 3in, he is just as imposing as strike partner Mitrovic.
With Harry Maguire missing, Serbia are likely to target England's centre-backs — and in Mitrovic and Vlahovic they have two physical weapons to do so.
The creativity of Dusan Tadic, who is still impressing at the age of 35, can help give the front two the service they need.
Mitrovic, of course, is no longer plying his trade in what is considered a top-level league.
But Monaghan, who has covered Middle Eastern football for a decade, believes that is unfair on the level of the Saudi Pro League, which he says has taken a "quantum leap in quality" following huge investment over the past two years.
Mitrovic's form for his country has not dipped despite the move, which is testament to that, and he finished Euro 2024 qualifying with five goals as Serbia's top scorer.
He has always been a leader for Serbia, but he has had to take on extra responsibility as the main man for Al-Hilal after Neymar suffered a serious knee injury in October.
In the Brazilian's absence, Mitrovic stepped up and scored 28 league goals, a tally bettered only by Cristiano Ronaldo, and ensured Al-Hilal were champions while going unbeaten.
"He has played with real maturity," says Monaghan. "His aggression seems a bit more channelled now. I remember him at Fulham and Newcastle, there were controversial incidents every now and then, but there has been nothing like that in Saudi Arabia.
"He has just fitted in perfectly. His move was the story of last summer — and he was worth the wait."
