Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez has confirmed that midfielder Mikel Merino is in contention to play against Watford on Saturday.
The talented Spaniard has missed the Magpies’ last three matches with a back complaint, but Benitez confirmed he was fit at his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
A summer loan signing from Borussia Dortmund, Merino impressed Benitez enough to be rewarded with a permanent deal at the club, for a fee of around £6million.
Merino has shown his quality for Newcastle, making nine appearances so far this season and scoring one goal.
He started his career in Spain with Osasuna, before signing for Dortmund, and the return of the 21-year-old will be a big boost for Benitez as Newcastle look to bounce back from three consecutive defeats.
The Chronicle’s chief sports writer Lee Ryder was in attendance and confirmed the news on Twitter:
Merino in the squad and has trained the last two days. In contention for a start #nufc
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) November 24, 2017
OPINION
Merino has been a shining light for Newcastle this season, and Benitez would have been delighted to sign the young Spaniard on a permanent deal. You can see why German giants Merino signed him, even if he didn’t quite make the grade. He provides Newcastle with much-needed creativity behind the strikers, and if he adds more goals to his game should easily develop into one of their best players. One issue may be his physical strength, but the longer he plays in England the less of a problem that will become.