The debut of Mikel merino With the Spanish team on Thursday in Stuttgart he has catapulted the Navarrese to that stage in which, all those who tend to pay less attention to Real during a season, suddenly discover the first-rate footballer, in one piece, who is the pivot txuri urdin. It is obvious that this had not gone unnoticed by the coach, Luis Enrique, who after giving him his first minutes as an absolute international against the Teutons did not hesitate to qualify for Merino as “the best midfielder in the league” last season.
They were just 33 minutes those that the Navarrese played, s
uplifting to
Busquets, but very well used. Not only to give another air to the team, but to assist, winning a head ball in the heart of the area, to Gayá while allowing Spain to equalize the initial goal of Werner. It was his first appearance in the most important showcase of world football but enough to accumulate praise that, if repeated in time, will undoubtedly raise the midfielder's price. A la Real this step forward from Merino, at 24 years old, he catches him with the well-armored footballer, not in vain he renewed before going on vacation until 2025, with a termination clause of 60 million, which will be 65 as the contract progresses.
With the European Championship as a goal
The call of the absolute is the fruit gathered by Merino after his two good seasons at La Real. Own Luis Enrique He correctly pointed out that “he is a footballer who is going to more”, and the Navarrese also agrees that he is not among those chosen by the coach “by chance”, since he has been “working a lot” to have been able to receive an opportunity like this and enjoy”.
Fate also wanted his debut with the Spanish team to take place in Germany, where somehow they did not know how to express his talent in the year he played in Dortmund. Far from nesting in him any feeling of revenge, Merino He said after the game that “at this moment the only thing that goes through my head are emotions of joy, of great satisfaction, of knowing that I am not here by chance and that I have worked hard to enjoy this debut.”
Merino The international season kicks off within the coach's plans, which may lead him to play the Eurocup next summer, while presenting his candidacy to be part of the generational change in the Spanish team together with other young footballers such as Ansu
Fati, Ferran
towers or Oscar
Rodriguez, among others. “It is very exciting to see this team, the call-up that there is, we are very young players, with a lot of desire and well accompanied by the veterans who help us and have a lot of experience. They are at the top level of the football scene and you learn a lot from them ”, concluded the Real player.