Newcastle United midfielder Mikel Merino is certain to join Real Sociedad but the deal is likely to be delayed until next week, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Spanish newspaper report that Real Sociedad have been trying to agree a price slightly below Merino’s release clause of £10.5million, but those efforts are being rejected by Newcastle, who are looking to insert lucrative bonuses into the deal.
Mundo Deportivo claim that sorting the sale of Merino is not a priority for Newcastle right now, with the relevant documentation taking time to be completed.
It is said that Sociedad are not worried about the transfer falling through, but Merino will now begin pre-season training with Newcastle instead of being with Sociedad at the start of their pre-season on Thursday.
This is a new timeframe for the Merino deal after a report from Marca suggested the agreement would be struck last week.
OPINION
It is hardly surprising that Newcastle are in no rush to push through the deal which will see Merino leave the club after just a year. The Magpies were quite clearly keen to hold on to the 22-year-old Spain youth international, who is rated highly by manager Rafa Benitez, but were obviously unable to change his mind on departing after just one season. As stated in the report, the Magpies have several other priorities this summer other than allowing one of their best young players to leave, and this deal will no doubt be completed at their pace. While Sociedad will obviously be hoping to have Merino as soon as possible, the La Liga club seem unconcerned by this last-minute delay to proceedings. It is seemingly now certain that Merino will leave Tyneside, and that is a huge shame for the club and a decision that could end up being regrettable for the player.
