Matteo Moretto's Transfer Column: Mikel Merino, Vitor Roque, Pau Victor and Barcelona's midfield situation
Matteo Moretto gives Football España exclusive information on the latest business dominating the newspapers in Spain, as revealed in Daily Briefing by Fabrizio Romano.
The midfielder of Real Sociedad Mikel Merino has given his approval for a move to Arsenal, they have the green light for him, and now it is up to the two clubs to resolve the details of the transfer. That includes the breakdown of how much of the fee is fixed, and how much Arsenal would pay in bonuses.
Negotiations between Real Sociedad and Arsenal are ongoing, however, nothing has changed. Real Sociedade is not optimistic about a contract renewal, and its president Jokin Aperribay admitted that his offer was on the table for a year before this week.
At the moment, the midfield is not a priority for Barcelona this transfer window, although I would not rule anything out. It is true that Hansi Flick is in love with young people like Marc Casado and Marc Bernal, who are doing well in the pre-season tour of Barcelona, but I think that Barcelona will calmly evaluate the situation after the tour.
At that point, they have to work to strengthen the midfield and with whom. As for Oriol Romeu, it was said that Flick would give him a chance this season, but since April, he is out of the club's plans, hence the loan transfer to Girona.
As for Pau Víctor, who had an impressive start to the pre-season for Barcelona, and scored twice against Real Madrid and once against Manchester City, I can only say that the club is very pleased with his performance. He was brought in by Girona after playing on loan for Barca Atletic last season, and today they don't want to sell him.
On the subject of Vitor Roque, I can tell you what he said no to the proposal from Saudi Arabia. There have been quite consistent links with Lazio in recent weeks as well, and it is true that they have explored the possibility of moving for Roque, but at present there are no advanced negotiations. I think we will continue to hear Roque's name in the context of the transfer market in these last few weeks.
Matteo Moretto will be back with more transfer news in the coming days, providing exclusive information on the biggest stories in Spain and Italy.
