OPINION
Rafa Benitez is reportedly unwilling to consider midfielder Mikel Merino’s exit until he finds a replacement for him.
The Chronicle reported on Monday that Spanish trio Real Betis, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad were all trying to sign the 21-year-old defensive midfielder but faced a delay in their pursuits due to Benitez wanting a replacement signed before thinking about selling him.
The newspaper stated that a fee of £10million was expected to be paid for Merino and that would be a £3million profit for the club on their original investment, despite him only joining in 2017.
It is believed that Benitez is working hard to bring in another midfielder to the club as it is but is struggling to get a deal done due to the club’s low transfer budget.
With it sounding like the only reason Merino’s exit is not going through is due to Benitez’s need to sign someone to replace him, it just shows how the manager is currently stuck between a rock and a hard place.
If the defensive midfielder was to depart the club for a fee of £10million then the Spanish manager would no doubt find easier to sign another midfielder as his transfer kitty will no doubt get at least some of that money.
However he’s understandably stubborn about not weakening his team before he’s had a chance to strengthen.
Given how poor the Magpies perform in the transfer market usually it is a realistic possibility that if the club cashed in on Merino then no player will arrive in time to be his replacement.
This means that Benitez has no choice but to put his foot down in this scenario, however at the same time it is stopping him from having an easier job when it comes to recruiting new players.
Therefore with the current reported delay to Merino’s exit being due to Benitez’s demand to make a signing, it’s clear the Magpies boss is stuck in a very difficult situation.
