• Merino has previous Premier League experience with Newcastle United.
• The player’s contract with Real Sociedad expires in mid-2025.
Arsenal are still trying to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino, who could be the perfect addition to fill the void they lost last season.
Mikel Merino’s deal is to fill the squad depth gap left by Mohamed Elneny, a natural midfielder who will rotate with Declan Rice, Thomas Partey and Jorginho, not to mention the midfield strategy of using an inverted fullback to play in attack.
His arrival aims to make the midfield four in the two positions have a similar standard of starting and substitutes because the previous year Elneny was too far from the other three. So even if we get him, he will have to start on the bench, learning as he plays. Now, the quicker or slower he can adapt depends on the player. According to Mikel Arteta, new players usually take the fastest time, around six months on average. Shorter than that is great for adapting.
Arsenal have just submitted their first official offer. Which is listed on the page as 30 million euros, which is considered more than the initial news that it was going to be 25 million euros or about 50% of the release clause, because the contract is in the last season + he is not young anymore, 28 years old. What Arsenal have been discussing throughout the news is the “payment structure”, how the ทางเข้า ufabet https://ufabet999.app team will pay and in what period. Until an offer was made that had to be raised quite a bit after Merino’s great form in Euro 2024 with the Spanish national team.
Referring to “Age – Salary – Performance” is what Edu Gaspar evaluates the players in the team when signing anyone. Merino is the one that Arsenal evaluates the value of selling, may not get anything at all. The best is to lose a little. The transfer fee this time will be the most expensive in his football career. After this, the transfer fee will continue to drop according to his age.
Therefore, this deal must be bought to be worthwhile in order to lead the team to the goal. The transfer fee this time is not just looking at wanting the player. But investing in the hope of raising the level of the team purely, not making a profit. Because it is paid mainly for use. It is almost impossible to make a resale price in the future.
Real Sociedad, after being relieved that Martin Zubimendi will not leave the team, the situation looks much more relaxed. And selling Merino this time, no matter what. They made a 100% profit because they bought him for 12 million in 2018. All expenses are finished. He has been used for 6 years and now if he sells, the number will be at least double the price when he was bought. As for the player wanting to move out, this has been clear for a long time as well.
Personally, I think that if both organizations don’t make things too difficult, and ease up on the benefits a bit. They can talk things out and close the deal. Real Sociedad have already signed midfielder Luka Susic, a young Croatian international who can play both as a midfielder and as an attacker. That means Merino’s path to joining the Gunners may only take a “heartbeat”.