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Newcastle United: Talking Mikel Merino with BVB Buzz

By Carson A Merk

SHANGHAI, CHINA - JULY 22: Mascot Emma in front of the chinese fans of Borussia Dortmund during the International Champions Cup match between Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund at Shanghai Stadium on July 22, 2016 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
SHANGHAI, CHINA - JULY 22: Mascot Emma in front of the chinese fans of Borussia Dortmund during the International Champions Cup match between Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund at Shanghai Stadium on July 22, 2016 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /
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We caught up with Joshua Sampson from FanSided’s BVB Buzz to discuss Mikel Merino’s move from Borussia Dortmund to Newcastle United.

Mikel Merino officially joined Newcastle United on a loan deal from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. The midfielder spent one season with the club after a couple years with Osasuna’s first team. He may see his first chance to impress with his new side in their friendly against Mainz 05 on Saturday night. For some insight into the 21 year old’s time with Dortmund, we spoke with Joshua Sampson, the site expert for FanSided’s Borussia Dortmund blog, BVB Buzz.

Newcastle Toons: In his one season with Dortmund, how would you describe Mikel Merino’s play on the pitch?

Joshua Sampson: Merino, in all honesty, didn’t perform well at all. Fans didn’t know who he was, in his few appearances he was poor, and he just never fit in. Since the transfer fee to get him wasn’t too big, roughly around 3.5 million euros, it was worth the risk. But, sometimes transfers don’t pan out how you want them to.

NT: Why do you think he didn’t see more action?

Sampson: Despite suffering injuries this past season in the midfield, Merino never became a mainstay in the roster. When called upon, Merino performed poorly. His first touch was weak, his awareness let the team down multiple times, and he never fix that hard-working midfielder role that Thomas Tuchel desired. With midfielders such as Weigl, Castro, and Sahin running the ship in the midfield, Merino was never bound to be successful last year.

NT: What’s the general sense from supporters on social media about his departure?

Sampson: We actually took a poll on Twitter to see if our fans knew who he was. To our surprise, not many people knew him, including one of our writers. For most fans, Merino’s departure is nothing heartbreaking but more along the lines of mundane. Nobody really cares about Merino and that narrative is evident among our supporters.

Related Story: BVB Buzz's story on Merino's departure

NT: Lastly, what can fans expect from Dortmund this season?

Sampson: This season will be something new for Dortmund, but not in the typical sense. For the first time in years, Dortmund has retained their entirety of their core players. Aubameyang hasn’t left, Dembele is staying put, Pulisic stated he doesn’t want to leave, and the rest of the team is pretty much the same. Even with a new manager, Dortmund will want to win the Bundesliga this season and get decently far into the Champions League.

The only downside to this season, however, will be injuries. Reus is out until January, Schmelzer is now injured, Guerreiro is still injured, Kagawa is injured, and by the looks of it, we could lose even more players before the Bundesliga starts. Like last year, it is up to the youngsters to carry the team through the first half of the season. If Dortmund is within 6 points of Bayern at the winter break, I would say the team is in good shape.