Mikel Merino’s winning goal for Spain against Germany in the Euros seemed to remind everyone that he exists and is a good player, and since then transfer rumours about him have flared into life.
A few major teams – especially Arsenal – have been mentioned, but yesterday Chelsea saw their name brought into the mix. Sadly for any Blues fans hoping the big Basque destroyer would be the final piece of a rather tricky midfield puzzle, Fabrizio Romano has today taken the chance to basically shut down those rumours.
According to him, the real pursuit comes from clubs in La Liga – plus Arsenal, who have yet to really get their summer into gear but who have also been frustratingly efficient in the market in recent years.
“Mikel Merino – Despite links with Chelsea and Manchester United, I’m only aware of Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid’s interest,” Romano wrote in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside.
“Still, at the moment there has been no official bid to Real Sociedad yet, so let’s see how it goes in the next days. Arsenal’s focus now is on completing the Riccardo Calafiori deal.
“But in my opinion Merino would be an excellent signing; quality, consistency, good on international stage, he’s a good opportunity on the market with just one year left on his deal.”
A bridge too far for packed Chelsea midfield
We weren’t convinced by the Merino links to Chelsea which bubbled up yesterday, and we’re not at all surprised to see them dismissed like this. We’ve got so many players in the squad already, and our midfield in particular is crowded enough as it is.
As much as it would be really useful to have a player with Merino’s profile in the mix, there’s just not the money or the need to make what would be a sizeable deal happen.
