Mikel Merino signs permanent deal

[TBC]

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This one's happened fast!

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[Colly]

Who? Is this a potential signing or just some bloke who's had his ingrowing toenail sorted?

[bodacious benny]

Out of nowhere. Don't know much about him, played a fair few games for Osasuna before moving to Dortmund.

[Ol' Dirty Bas Dost]

Won't believe this is happening until there's an out-of-focus selfie of him and Martin Trinder.

[Ramone]

My record

[Oval85]

It's a loan apparently.

[TBC]

My record

s***, sorry

[Speedo]

Obligatory goals and skillz video.

Loves a set piece

[Tsi]

at the wonga shirt also play muted

Speedo

[overseasTOON]

Can we call him 'Merinhio' because that sounds like someone you'd pay £20 million for rather than a loan signing.

[The Deluded Pablo Diego Jose Francisco]

Having his medical now

Source: SSN.

[Double Agent Bruce a.k.a DAB]

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Tbh I prefer that kind of transfers. Under the radar. We didn't heard anything about him before few hours back. Now let's hope he's the right man.

Also obviously is a season long loan with an obligation for buying.

[Duke]

Telegraph are reporting it's a permanent transfer

[Don Sholeone]

Pffft why are we loaning from Dortmund, everyone knows they are not as good as Bayern, if they are not going to back Rafa then we will get relegated after he walks in September, should have got Vidal instead #AshleyOut

[The Deluded Pablo Diego Jose Francisco]

Telegraph are reporting it's a permanent transfer

SSN say its a season long loan.

[Donkey Toon]

Telegraph are reporting it's a permanent transfer

SSN say its a season long loan.

There's about a dozen sites reporting it and none can agree. It's a loan, or a permanent deal, or a loan with a 7m euro option to buy.

I don't really care at this stage so long as Colback is one player further from selection.

[Don Sholeone]

In Spain, Merino is compared to Raúl García, the former Atlético star, who was also a graduate of the Pamplona youth. García learned his trade in Pamplona and then went on to be a key player for Atlético Madrid; now it remains to be seen whether his ten years younger counterpart can succeed him or not.

The 18 year old midfielder is blessed with immense vision and passing skills, especially long medium-length balls. As you would expect from any Spanish talent, Merino can explore and enjoy opponent spaces by driving actions without being particularly explosive in moving.

So far, Merino’s numbers speak for themselves. At 18 years, Merino has already notched up as many as 51 competitive games for Osasuna and was directly involved in six goals during this period. And already a Spanish under-19 International, he has also won the Euro 2015 Under-19 championship, scoring the first goal of the tournament for Spain.

Moreover, Merino has the ability to shoot from distance. However, there is a room for improvement in terms of his power and precision.

Defensively, Merino has strong physical presence in the air, and his ability in duels are very good as well. He has a 72% success on aerial duels, according to the official Liga website, thanks in part to his 1.88m frame. Merino is sufficiently competent at intercepting balls, disarming opponents, and using tackles only when necessary.

Merino is more comfortable in a double-pivot system, often used by Thomas Tuchel except for the fact that BVB changes to a 4-1-4-1 shape seamlessly within the game. Merino functions as a number “8” on the field.

The 18 year old is also characterized by outstanding qualities ball winning. For Osasuna, he is more focused on winning the ball the back as you soon as you lose it associating with lighting fast switching. Therefore, Merino can be a good presser of the ball.

Physically, Merino is 6 ft 2 inches tall, but his balance often seems a bit off, but he seems to have ample stamina in lasting the whole 90 minutes.

Finally, he has been called up 22 times in the Segunda División this season only being substituted once and appearing twice as a substitute.

http://bundesligafanatic.com/what-value ... -dortmund/

[Fonda Trevanion]

Underwhelmed yet again - are there no proven professionals out there or have we got nee money left ffs

[Acid Hippo]

Underwhelmed yet again - are there no proven professionals out there or have we got nee money left ffs

We're a newly promoted club, what 'proven' players could we realistically sign?

[Acid Hippo]

Last time we were promoted our summer signings were Perch, Sol Campbell, Gosling, Tiote, Ben Arfa, Yven Moyo and Michael Richardson. No 'proven' players there, apart from Sol obviously but that doesn't count.

People expecting the likes of Hernandez, Sigurdson, etc are just deluded. They wouldn't want to come, we wouldn't want to pay for them even if they did. And rightly so.

The sort of proven players that newly promoted clubs usually attract are either on stupid wages, past it, or both.