Mikel Merino – Real Sociedad’s midfield genius

Mikel Merino has seen the peaks and troughs of European football at only 23-years-old, playing in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund and the English Premier League for Newcastle United. Real Sociedad has one of the best performing academies in Europe, but the club also makes shrewd investments in the transfer market, becoming a haven for players whose careers have gone wayward in recent years as Esteban Granero has joined from Queens Park Rangers, Adnan Januzaj joined after poor loan stints at Sunderland and Borussia Dortmund while Merino has found a home in San Sebastian. The midfielder’s good performances saw him on the cusp of a Spanish National Team call-up according to some media outlets around the nation.

Merino earned promotion with Osasuna at 19-years-old, catching the eye of the talent spotters at Borussia Dortmund before moving to Germany where he would be a member of the squad. He was mainly a squad player in Germany but earned some opportunities under Thomas Tuchel as at home against Augsburg in the 2016/17 season, he impressed with his distribution, working a pass past two opposition defenders to Mario Gotze who hit the post. He and his midfield partner Julian Weigl lost some sloppily played loose balls, but the Basque midfielder also had a moment where he drove forward on a mazy run to spread the ball for Ousmane Dembele to play in Shinji Kagawa who mis-kicked the opportunity into the grasping arms of Marwin Hitz.

In a match at home to Borussia Monchengladbach, he started the game by losing possession in the build-up to a goal before settling in the game to become a stable presence in midfield. He played a sloppy pass that was intercepted by Andre Hahn to allow the German to work a pass for Stindl to score. Merino then found his rhythm in the second-half as he played a through ball to Raphael Guerreiro whose shot hit the post. Merino never became a starter at Dortmund but had some performances where he showed potential but managerial and squad changes prevented him from nailing down a starting position. The midfielder has also been involved in two Euro U21 Championship winning campaigns as he awaits the opportunity to make the step up to the Seleccion.

His move to Newcastle was supposed to give him the opportunity to prove his immense talent in the Premier League as he had more opportunities on Tyneside as well as more pivotal performances while having the opportunity to work under Rafael Benitez. However, the inability to carve out a starting role again would give Real Sociedad the opportunity to swoop in for his services. Merino has played in many positions for La Real, as an attacking midfielder, second-striker, defensive midfielder and in his favoured box-to-box midfield role which he has now made his own.

The 2018/19 season which was his first in San Sebastian, endeared him to supporters, especially with some of his exploits in the bigger games. Away to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernebau, in a 2-0 victory, he started the game by winning a penalty in the third minute, winning possession in the opposition half, using a turn of pace to beat one Real Madrid defender before baiting Casemiro into fouling him inside the box. His assist against Barcelona at the Camp Nou in a 2-1 loss was a thing of beauty as he played a magnificent slide rule pass to beat an astonishing eight Barcelona players for Juanmi to slide and flick past Andre Ter Stegen to score. Merino showed an element of ‘La Pausa’ or control and a mastery of time and space in his first season at La Real as in a home match against Celta Vigo, he was driving the ball at the opposition defence, deducing that teammate Juanmi was offside so he chipped a pass for onrushing fullback, Joseba Zaldua who crossed for Juanmi who was unable to get to the ball.

During this season as, Real Sociedad have excelled as one of the most exciting young teams in Europe, Merino is at the heart of the team as a box-to-box midfielder providing both zeal and defensive authority. In build-up, if the defensive midfielder drops in between the centre-backs, Merino will move into the six space to receive the ball and distribute possession in between the lines. However, he mainly moves into the half-spaces on the ball-near flank in between the centre-back and fullback, connecting play and bringing guile to La Real’s build-up combinations. He receives the ball on his stronger left foot, allowing him to swivel past pressure to work one or two touch passing sequences to shepherd play into the opposition half.

Merino has become such an important cog in Real Sociedad’s build-up that in their successful short goal-kick routines against Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey, he influenced them as in one of the moves, his run into the final third is perfectly timed to receive the ball and evade pressure, transitioning into an attacking situation. In another situation, he took down a chip from Alex Remiro to turn past his marker and shield the ball to work a pass to the flank. Merino predominantly receives the ball and passes with his favoured left foot as he is a master at using his physique to shield possession before working passes into the final third. Merino does a wonderful job at gliding in between the lines to receive the ball in the same vertical line as Martin Odegaard to connect play.

He manages to work little one-touch passes to create goalscoring opportunities as at home to Villareal, he worked a pass in between the lines to Ander Guevara who laid the ball off to him to play the ball to Odegaard who spread the ball for Portu to cut back for Willian Jose to finish. Sometimes, Real Sociedad operate like a well functioned organism with each attacking player moving to accommodate a teammate. At times, Merino would drop deep with Willian Jose moving out wide as Mikel Oyarzabal would move into a false-nine role as the former Osasuna midfielder will constantly take up positions next to his Norwegian counterpart.

Merino is an old-fashioned box-to-box midfielder as he does not just add technical grace but defensive resolve as well. In counter-pressing situations, he will lunge into crunching challenges to regain possession while he is also strong at regaining possession in aerial duels. Merino adds an element of grit to La Real’s engine room as he shoulders his defensive responsibilities with authority as he can be overzealous at times in challenges. When Real Sociedad are in losing positions, Merino will move into the six space to distribute possession at a quicker pace to ease possession as Imanol Alguacil will normally replace the defensive midfielder with a more attacking player.

“Well I think the job I have to do is quite clear. I am the one to hold the team and be the liaison between the defensive and the offensive zone and I have to give the team balance when defending and being on an intermediate zone to help strikers get the balls properly. I have to have a long run defensively and I believe that I understand perfectly what Imanol asks from me tactically, so we know where we are playing at and that makes it all easier for us, especially to the midfielders,” said Mikel Merino in an interview with Tribal Football towards the end of last year.

Merino has found a home in San Sebastian growing into one of the most important players in one of La Liga’s most important teams as La Real also have a Copa Del Rey tie against Basque rivals, Athletic Club. The 23-year-old midfielder has also made good on the early promise in his career at Osasuna and Borussia Monchengladbach, becoming one of La Liga’s finest box-to-box midfielders. He could also be a crucial piece of a revamped Spanish midfield, going into Euro 2020 next year if his form continues with Real Sociedad.