We haven’t had a meaningful update regarding Merino other than Fabrizio’s constant no-update updates.
He keeps talking about figuring out the structure and whatnot, meanwhile Spanish outlets are saying that Arsenal haven’t even made an offer yet.
Fabrizio knows nothing lol
1 Like
Can’t be true.
Because Merino wasn’t even included in their pre-season games.
Everything points to us wanting to sign a midfielder this summer. I can really only think of three possibilities with Merino:
-
We’re confident and just negotiating very hard behind the scenes. We probably lowballed the fuck out of Sociedad because he’s 28 and only has one year left and they are holding out for more. I still think this is the most likely. Neither side really needs to get this done immediately. We’re only playing once a week in August then have the international break so I don’t think we feel a rush and Sociedad may be similar. They have already signed Luka Sucic who looks a lot like a Merino replacement in terms of profile and position.
-
We have Merino in a holding pattern because we’re pursuing some other bigger name midfielder and want to see whether the deal can be done. I just don’t really believe this as the possible names like FDJ and Guimaraes don’t seem realistic on a financial level.
-
We have Merino in a holding pattern because funds are tight and we’re pursuing some big name forward and don’t want to commit the money to Merino until we know whether we can do the bigger deal for the forward. This also seems unlikely for a number of reasons.
So I’m still betting on scenario #1. I think we’re probably also not too scared about Zubimendi just because Merino seems to want to join us, Sociedad has reportedly promised him that he can leave, and Sociedad’s threat of keeping him and letting him go on a free isn’t really credible.
2 Likes
Looks like a decent all round midfielder likely to fill the gap of partey and Jorginho when they leave next year.
He will be the rotation option and next summer we will sign one more starter. Can’t see this guy being the long term starter for us, not enough playmaking ability if it’s rice merino Odegaard.
Personally, the saga seems to have gone on too long and I can’t attribute that to the structure of the deal. This should be a simple one to get done, given the fee involved. I think the problem is with Zubimendi’s potential move to Liverpool, and as a result, Real Sociedad have put the breaks on Merino. Yes they could lose him on a free next summer, but there may not be the same opportunity next summer for him, and losing two key midfielders during the same window would be really problematic for them. I hope that’s not the case, but I worry it is.
I still think if Zubimendi is open to a move, and is happy to move abroad, then we should be all over that transfer as an alternative. We cannot allow a player of that quality, who improves our midfield in the long term, to go to a rival club.
Guarantee if anyone’s stalling this deal it’s us.
Merino has 1 year left and they’re not in the CL, they don’t really have much to bargain with.
I think we’re just keeping our options open and probably the relentless tweeting of every minor thing has made it seem like a) we were closer to completion than we are and b) that it’s stalled more than it has.
I think the constant updates from the usual aggregators are (shock) complete bollocks because nothing is being massively leaked to them. That leans into the theory that we are keeping things tight regarding transfers and waiting on a potential domino to fall.
The way the Merino thing was reported at first sounded like it could have been completed relatively fast. Alternatively, I’m not sure what other serious options are out there that would make us bide our time for. Fofana? doubt it but he’s in the exact same boat as Merino, with a year left on his deal and is a box-to-box CM/comfortable holding CM.
Maybe the process this summer was to make money deals primarily from Hale End guys before buying. The ESR/Calafiori deal seemed to coincidentally match this trend…
That means Nketiah and Nelson, the former now not likely going to OM, are possible end of transfer window last ditch grabs for the lurkers waiting for a good deal. If that is the case, it leaves us in a precarious situation.
Zubimendi staying!
Price of brick going down.
Wouldn’t want this Zubi fella at my club.
Dude still suckles on his mummy’s titties.
5 Likes
Talks have started.
https://x.com/samjdean/status/1823688280593822009?s=46&t=AXaXFdGpC85RzXwk6DBMgA
1 Like
c’mon, get this deal done ffs.
3 Likes
Lol we were told by Fabrizio this shit was basically done like a month ago.
And now the information is that “talks have started”.
The Here We Go merchant normally pretty good with his info but he’s seemingly fucked this one
4 Likes
If that’s the difference in valuation then it will get done.
8 Likes
If only Marseille had that kind of energy when it came to closing the 5m gap with the Eddie deal. 
Fabrizio frauding it out?
My day is getting better.
2 Likes
Looks like it.
Ornstein has kept very quiet on Merino.
I feel like I’m reliving July
1 Like
Was expecting our bid to be accepted given Michael Merryweatherino has one year left on his contract.
Not cool, La Real, not cool.
1 Like