Spanish midfielder Mikel Merino, who spent June’s Euro U21 tournament in Poland, mainly on the bench, is on the way from Borussia Dortmund to Premier League newcomers Newcastle United.
The deal has been in the making for a few days, with Newcastle managing to beat Athletic Club Bilbao to the Pamplona born footballer.
According to Kicker’s information, the deal should be finalised today.
Kicker’s reporter Thomas Hennecke report the clubs reached an agreement over the 21-year-old’s move – it should be a loan with permanent purchase option.
After getting into senior football at Osasuna, Merino, who became one of their leading players, transferred to Borussia Dortmund last summer.
However, he found playing time very limited there, appearing in only nine competitive matches throughout the whole season. In total, he recorded only 318 minutes on the pitch, and hopes to get more opportunities from Newcastle’s manager Rafael Benítez.
Merino’s departure from Dortmund makes even more sense when we consider the arrival of two similar players into Peter Bosz’ side during the summer: Mahmoud Dahoud, from Borussia Monchengladbach, and Maximilian Philipp, from SC Freiburg.
Lukáš Vráblik.
