Guillem Balague draws comparison between Newcastle summer signing and football great
By Harvey Byrne
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has drawn comparison between Newcastle signing Mikel Merino and football great Xabi Alonso.
The 21-year-old midfielder was confirmed a Magpies player via their official website and official Twitter account on Friday afternoon, joining from Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan deal.
He is a slight unknown quantity in the United Kingdom with his professional career to date seeing him play in his native Spain before moving to Germany last summer.
But, his signing has been applauded by those who have seen him and that includes Balague, who told on his personal Twitter account on Friday that he is the complete midfielder and can perform in a role similar to Alonso’s, or Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos.
It is high praise for any player to be compared to one of Alonso’s stature after the Spaniard’s fine career which saw him line up for such clubs as Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
He of course played under Rafa Benitez at Anfield, helping them lift them Champions League and FA Cup trophies and the experienced Spanish boss will be hoping that he has managed to unearth another gem with the addition of Merino.
In other Newcastle news, the Magpies have been installed as favourites to sign this 13-time England international.
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