Newcastle United have agreed on a deal to sign Spanish U21 International and Borussia Dortmund defensive midfielder Mikel Merino, following the signings of Atsu, Lejeune, Manquillo and Murphy.
This transfer has been a contrast to the usual NUFC transfer saga, as the rumour only has been known yesterday (where normally the transfers are stretched over long periods of time with lots of twists to the tale).
The exact deal is still unknown, The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder is reporting that the deal is set to be a permanent transfer for €7 million whereas Sky’s Keith Downie is reporting the transfer to be a season long loan (with potential loan fee). Recently the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope has suggested the deal to be a season long loan with an obligation to buy.
Prior to his move to Dortmund in the summer of 2016, the Spaniard was highly rated but has failed to make much of an impact in the Bundesliga last season.
Merino only made 8 appearances for Dortmund in the 16/17 season and 1 appearance in the DFB-Pokal Cup with no attacking output, contrasting to his time at Osasuna where Mikel Merino had a fairly decent attacking output over 2 seasons.
Last season’s performance has clearly lead Dortmund to make the Spaniard they reportedly spent £3.19 million on, available to a move this summer, either temporarily or permanently.
This has led Benitez to swoop for the Spanish midfielder to strengthen his squad for Newcastle United’s return to the top flight of English football. Athletic Bilbao was also keen on the midfielder but the prospect of working with a prestigious manager like Benitez has led to the Mags being the front runners for the Central Midfielder.
Rafa obviously can see the potential in the Dortmund man and is keen to add him to the growing Spanish contingency at Benitez’s Newcastle United, which consists of newly signed Javier Manquillo and his former Atletico Madrid team mate Jesus Gamez, fan favourite Ayoze Perez and youngsters Juanito and Fernandez.
Merino would be a solid addition to NUFC as Benitez tries to build and improve his squad. The central midfield of Newcastle lacks quality. Shelvey is the star man in the midfield and is usually partnered with the young but capable Isaac Hayden; apart from these not many have the required quality to perform at the highest level consistently.
Saviet was signed in January 2016 and had little impact in his first 6 months at the Mags resulting in a loan move elsewhere. Rafa is looking to sell him this summer. Jack Colback is another option in the Centre of midfield for NUFC, but his questionable performances over the past few years have left him with many doubters.
In my opinion, both Saviet and Colback are not good enough and need to be sold as soon as possible. Merino would be a quality addition to the Magpies and will add competition as well as a young and raw option which Benitez can nurture and develop into the player Merino is touted to be. At the reported low cost and the high potential of Merino, this transfer could be a steal for Newcastle United.
