Merino leaves...
Newcastle United have confirmed that Spanish playmaker Merino has left the club and joined La LIga side Real Sociedad in a move thought to be for around just £10m.
The 22 year old leaves after just 24 Premier League games for Newcastle as the Spanish club triggered a buy out clause in the players contract, leaving Newcastle powerless to block the move.
It is somewhat disappointing that such a talented player is leaving so soon after joining the Mags, who only joined permanently back in October, something that should perhaps have been sorted towards the end of the season.
The clause must have been added into the contract as a stipulation of the players agent upon agreeing to sign that permanent deal, so perhaps with relationships seemingly frayed during the latter part of the season there was nothing that could be done.
With Ki on board already, on a free, one can at least hope that the money raised will be put to good use in strengthening elsewhere in the squad.