Borussia Dortmund’s five recent transfer ‘What Ifs…?’

Mikel Merino

The numbers:
Bought for: 3.75 million euros
Sold for: 7 million euros + 3 million euros loan fee
Current market value: 50 million euros

In 2016, the young Spaniard was part of one of the most memorable Borussia Dortmund transfer periods. With splashy signings such as Götze, Schürrle and Dembélé, the arrival of the hard-nosed holding midfielder went nearly unnoticed.

Unfortunately, he did not only go unnoticed by the media but also by coach Thomas Tuchel. After establishing himself as a full-time starter in central midfield for his hometown club CA Osasuna, the 20-year-old made only nine appearances for BVB. About half of those matches he played out of position as a central defender, yet he was still able to show some promise. However, his stint in Dortmund ended after just one season and he joined Newcastle United in 2017.

In a recent interview with SportBILD, Merino criticized the lack of trust by the coaching staff, as well as missing camaraderie within the BVB locker room. He would have loved to have some coffee after training with his team mates. Ciro Immobile can certainly relate to this.

Would he have a role on today’s squad?
A quick peek at the numbers pretty much tells the story: Borussia Dortmund got a bargain when they signed Merino for just under four million euros and made a pretty profit when Newcastle United paid about ten million euros (loan + transfer fee) for his services.

However, after leaving Newcastle his market value rose to a stunning 50 million euros. Needless to say, the Spanish international would have had a role in this squad and most probably would be a regular. Fans might take comfort in Özcan’s strong start to his Borussia Dortmund career, but it sure would’ve been nice to have Merino’s toughness in this squad.