According to Sport, Arsenal are planning to sign Real Sociedad and Spain star Mikel Merino in the coming weeks.
Barcelona have identified Merino as their top target to bolster their midfield and intend to focus on the deal once Nico Williams’ situation is resolved in the coming days.
However, the report suggests that signing Merino for Barcelona will not be easy at all, as Arsenal are also prepared to spend a lot of money to sign the Spain Euro 2024 star.
The Gunners’ current efforts are focused on signing Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori, and once that deal is finalized and announced in the coming hours, the focus will immediately switch to Merino.
Sociedad will allow their 28-year-old player to leave if they receive an offer in the region of €25-30 million, and for Arsenal this is not a high price and they can easily afford it.
However, if Merino wants to join Barcelona, he will have to wait until the Catalans find a way out of their financial crisis, which is often not in line with the player’s plans, who wants to settle his future quickly and not wait until the end of the transfer window.
It is worth noting that Merino was part of Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, despite being a substitute for coach De La Fuente, and his biggest impact came when he scored a goal against Germany in the quarter-finals in the dying moments of extra time
