Last night, former Newcastle United midfielder Mikel Merino was in Champions League action, taking on PSG in the second leg of their last 16 tie.
After two goals from Kylian Mbappe and a 2-1 defeat that sent our former Group F rivals into the quarter-finals, Geordie referee Alan Oliver was spotted speaking to the Spanish international.
The footage shows Oliver ask “are you coming back?” before the pair shake hands and share a laugh. All jokes aside, the 27-year-old has blossomed since returning to his homeland and showed glimpses of real quality during his short time on Tyneside.
Watch the moment below, with Oliver’s brief chat with Merino coming around the 36-second mark:
👀 If you look very closely around the 36 second mark, you can clearly see referee Michael Oliver lobbying #RealSociedad captain Mikel Merino to re-join #NUFC.pic.twitter.com/oLeZhSm4lr
— Football España (@footballespana_) March 5, 2024
Almost six years on from his departure, the midfielder has been capped 19 times by Spain, shone on the European stage and now captains Real Sociedad.
With the club in the market for holing midfielder this summer, we could do much worse than bringing him back to Tyneside, where he’d be reunited with former teammate Alexander Isak.
