Athletic Bilbao are keen to sign a new central midfielder this summer and have targeted two Premier League stars, according to Fiebre Rojiblanca.
The Spanish publication claim that the La Liga club have targeted Newcastle United’s Mikel Merino as their number one choice, and also have Manchester United’s Ander Herrera in their sights.
Fiebre Rojiblanca report that Athletic believe Merino will give them more options and Newcastle could be willing to sell if their £13million valuation is met.
OPINION
Selling Merino just a year after he joined, initially on a loan that was soon converted into a permanent transfer, would be such a Newcastle thing to do. Naturally, owner Mike Ashley and the board will only do so if they can make a tidy profit on the player they paid Borussia Dortmund around £8million for last autumn. The 21-year-old was the Toon darling of the first half of 2017-18 as he made an initially major impact. But he fell down the central midfield pecking order in the second half of the campaign as Jonjo Shelvey and Mohamed Diame emerged as the favoured partnership of Rafael Benitez in the centre of the pitch. Nevertheless, ex-Athletic player Merino is one of Newcastle’s prize assets and the club now they can command a major fee if the Spanish clubs come calling this summer. Indeed, £13million does not appear too steep, given his debut campaign at St James’ Park and potential to improve. It could even be argue Newcastle would be selling on the cheap.
