Jesús Vallejo, Dani Ceballos, Borja Mayoral or Mikel Merino are all going to be given a good number of minutes for Spain’s U21 side, report Marca.
Manager Albert Celades could rest some of his better players, like those mentioned, because Spain are already qualified for the U21 championship in Italy and San Marino next year, but instead he wants to give them minutes they’re not getting enough of at their clubs.
Merino’s situation at Newcastle United isn’t anywhere near as bad of some of the youngsters at Real Madrid, but it’s still thought he needs more minutes not being as regular in the team as he’d like recently.
There’s absolutely no suggestion of a problem between Merino and Rafael Benitez or any hint he could consider an exit, the overriding theme is that Celades wants to give some players a chance to impress their club managers whilst on international duty.
Merino has also spoken to Marca ahead of the match against Northern Ireland, and feels his experience in England football should help: “The fact of playing in the Premier League gives you an idea of how the British teams play, perhaps it’s an advantage to better understand the game of the opponent.
“I’ve learned a lot because of the intensity of the game.”
