Planning should be underway for Newcastle United's targets for the summer transfer window as Eddie Howe looks to take his team to the next level.

The Toon have been linked with a seemingly endless stream of players in recent months and one gem who has been tipped to make a return to the club is Spanish international Mikel Merino.

Last week, reports from Spain claimed that the Magpies - and Liverpool - are interested in signing the midfielder and are plotting a bid for his services this summer.

He reportedly has a £50m (€60m) release clause in his current contract, with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City also said to be monitoring him.

He'd get St. James' Park rocking

PIF can get St. James' Park rocking by securing a deal to sign the midfielder this summer as the fans would surely love to see him back in the black and white strip.

FFC published an article earlier this year explaining why the sale of the Spaniard to Real Sociedad in 2018 was a huge blunder from Mike Ashley at the time. He has come on leaps and bounds since departing from Tyneside and supporters would be over the moon to see PIF right Ashley's wrong by bringing him back to England.

Merino played 25 matches in his single season for the club before heading to Spain and he has played 147 matches back in his home country to date, earning himself 11 caps for the national team along the way.

He was hailed "the best player in the league" by Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil earlier this season and this illustrates how well he has performed in La Liga this term. The midfielder has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.07 across 27 matches in the Spanish top-flight, making 2.6 tackles and interceptions per game and chipping in with five direct goal contributions.

Meanwhile, Bruno Guimaraes' average SofaScore rating of 6.95 is the highest of any Newcastle player in the middle of the park. Joe Willock and Joelinton have averaged scores of 6.71 and 6.74 respectively and this suggests that Merino would be a major upgrade on what Howe currently has to work with in his position.

Therefore, the Spaniard would be a fantastic signing and PIF must work hard to ensure that they can bring him to the club this summer. They can finally give the 25-year-old the St. James' Park career he deserves, instead of having just one season to show his quality, and his arrival would leave the stadium rocking with excitement.

AND in other news, Howe must boldly axe NUFC's "breathtaking" £93k-p/w "jewel" who drives Shearer "mad"...