Mikel Merino once again finds himself in the rumour mill. The Newcastle United player is often linked with an exit from the club and this time it feels there may be something behind it.
A couple of days ago two Spanish newspapers carried stories of interest from Real Betis. ABC Sevilla said Betis had opened talks with Merino’s agents Bahia International and would try to tempt the player with a high salary and the lure of European football.
Athletic Club Bilbao are the club who have been linked with Merino more than any other, and they’ve spent some time kicking themselves for not getting a deal done with Borussia Dortmund quickly enough. With the Basque club having a strict recruitment policy, and Merino falling into it, they’re almost forced to retain an interest.
Now the player himself has spoken, and whilst Newcastle fans may have expected him to rubbish the idea of a move, that isn’t what happened.
On slipping out of the Newcastle team, Merino said: “I had a small injury and then the decisions that the coaches take we have to respect. They played other teammates, they did well, in the end the collective objective was fulfilled, and I cannot do more than what I did, train to be ready when I’m chosen.”
Spanish estimates of a transfer fee have been put at €10-15m, and if Betis try to offer that then it has to be assumed Newcastle would knock it back.
