Newcastle close to selling midfielder for £10m

Newcastle United are close to selling Mikel Merino to Real Sociedad for a fee worth £10 million, according to claims from Sky Sports News.

Twitter: SKY SOURCES: Real Sociedad close to signing midfielder Mikel Merino from @NUFC for £10m. #SSN https://t.co/hnObbSjEDx (@SkySportsNews)

The Magpies signed Merino on a season-long loan deal from Borussia Dortmund last summer but were quick to make the move permanent after he impressed in the first half of the season.

However, Merino failed to properly kick on under the stewardship of his compatriot Rafa Benitez, who opted to utilise a double pivot of Jonjo Shelvey and Mo Diame towards the tail-end of the season.

Merino has been linked with a return to his homeland of Spain for some time now, with the likes of Real Betis and Athletic Bilbao having also been linked with respective moves.

Despite the interest from elsewhere, though, it seems Merino will be arriving at Real Sociedad in a £10m deal in the near future following the arrival of Ki Sung-yueng at Newcastle from Swansea City on a free transfer.