Mikel Merino is set to move to Real Sociedad for £10.5million, after a release clause in his contract was revealed by journalist Eduardo Fdez-Abascal for ESPN.

What's the story?

Merino impressed early on at Newcastle, but his season suffered because of injury and other players performing well, but he made a total of 25 appearances for the Magpies, scoring once and assisting another.

However, Spanish journalist Eduardo Fdez-Abascal for ESPN has tweeted that the midfielder wants to join Real Sociedad.

He has also stumped a lot of fans by saying that Merino has a release clause of around £10.5million and Newcastle won't be able to ask for more for their young star.

What does this mean?

For a player valued at £9million on Transfermarkt, Newcastle fans would surely hope to see a bigger return on a young player with a lot of promise, but if the release clause is true then it doesn't look like this will be the case.

It seems like there is very little Newcastle can do other than take it on the chin and make sure to reinvest the money wisely.

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