A former Newcastle player has established himself as one of the best midfielders in Europe and they must really be regretting his sale.
In recent years, the Magpies have had a few players who’ve departed St James Park and become top-level players elsewhere.
Joselu is the prime example of that having come off the back of a 17-goal season at Real Madrid whilst Ayoze Perez has certainly gone up a level with Real Betis and is now plying his trade with Spain at the Euros.
Though, there is now another player to add to that list who is close to joining Premier League title hopefuls Arsenal this summer.
Newcastle must really regret selling Mikel Merino
Mikel Merino has been ripping it up in La Liga ever since his departure from Newcastle United in the summer of 2018.
Merino, who TEAMTalk labelled as ‘classy’, always looked like a talent during his short stay on Tyneside but it seemed the environment and style of play didn’t suit his profile, so the club decided to sanction a £10.1m sale to Real Sociedad in July 2018, where he has cemented himself as one of La Liga’s best players.
The 28-year-old has featured in all three of Spain’s group games at Euro 2024 and is heavily linked with a move to Arsenal after the tournament.
With just a year left on his deal, Merino is still likely to command a fee of around £21m, more than double what Newcastle sold him for.
The environment has changed now
Newcastle are unlikely to get many slipping through the net under the current regime as Eddie Howe places great emphasis on giving youth a chance and allowing technical players to flourish.
Further, in fairness, few would’ve predicted Joselu to have the career he’s had and Perez certainly wasn’t sold on the cheap – moving to Leicester in a £30m deal.
It’s just the Merino one which is the glaring error, as he quite clearly looked like a really proficient midfielder with a high ceiling to grow into.