Newcastle fans have taken to Twitter to criticise former Magpies midfielder Mikel Merino.
This wave of criticism came after Newcastle fan @MikeAshleyFan12 shared a post on Twitter asking why Merino was sold after spending just one season at the Tyneside club.
This post then led to a number of Newcastle fans giving their opinions on why the midfielder left the club.
Here’s a sample of Newcastle fans slating Merino over his Newcastle exit:
He couldnt handle having to fight for his place
— Dodds (@doddsy0486) November 17, 2019
He wanted to leave and didn’t want to fight for his place in the side
— Richard (@Localtoon) November 17, 2019
Wasn’t good enough for the Prem and it showed
— Dev (@SDevannyNUFC) November 17, 2019
The Spaniard, who is valued at £13.5 million (Transfermarkt), joined the club in 2017 on a loan deal from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. In his season at Newcastle, the central-midfielder made 25 appearances in all competitions under former manager Rafa Benitez, scoring once and making one assist along the way (per Transfermarkt).
His exit from the club though did not go down to well with some Newcastle fans.
He wanted to leave, nothing anyone could do about it
— Peter Monaghan (@petermonaghan39) November 18, 2019
….what’s he done since?
— Paul (@doobls) November 18, 2019
Release clause, Rafa was powerless.
— Dean Craze (@toonlad9) November 17, 2019
What do we think?
It seems Merino did not enjoy his year in the Premier League at Newcastle. At the end of his Newcastle loan deal, Merino returned to parent-club Dortmund before being sold to Newcastle for a fee of £6.3 million and then was moved on to current club Real Sociedad for a fee of £10.8 million in the same month (per Transfermarkt).
Indeed, Merino’s representatives and his father had held reservations about him playing in England from the start and his agent went on to inform Spanish clubs of his release clause, which led to his departure.
With Dortmund not wanting the midfielder, and with the player not wanting a return to Newcastle, the move to Sociedad appears to be what he was looking for.