10 Issues McClaren STILL Needs To Resolve At Newcastle Before The Season Kicks Off

4. Mitrovic Or Cisse? ... Or Even Both?

Speaking just before Aleksandar Mitrovic's move to Newcastle had been sealed, Steve McClaren gave a rather interesting suggestion of a new system he could adopt going forward to The Chronicle. He said:

"If we can adapt to two strikers we will certainly try to do that. At the present moment we have just had Papiss (Cisse). "He has played on his own up there with support around. We will look at other things when Mitrovic comes in."

McClaren's not-so-subtle suggestion in this interview was that he could look to alter his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation - which he used in the majority of the pre-season matches - and instead revert to a system with two strikers up top, namely both Cisse and Mitrovic. Reports earlier in the summer claimed McClaren was looking to sell Cisse during this window, but this quote suggested instead that the ex-England boss could pair the forward who netted 11 goals last season alongside his new striking import from Anderlecht. The likelihood is that only one will play against Southampton at St James' Park on Sunday though - and in away games - but which will it be? You'd have thought it would be Mitrovic, but we'll have to wait and see.