Real Sociedad issue new transfer demand to Arsenal over Mikel Merino deal

Real Sociedad are demanding a fee in excess of €40million (£35m) for Mikel Merino having rejected an initial offer from Arsenal.

The Gunners are eager to bring in the Spain international this summer to bolster their options in midfield and have had an initial offer of €25million (£21.4m) rejected by the La Liga side.

It was reported Real Sociedad were looking for a fee of around €35m to make the deal happen but Cadena Cope report they want more than €40m.

Merino is in the final year of his contract and the expectation is still that he will join Arsenal this summer. The midfielder’s representatives remain optimistic the deal will go through but he has also not ruled out the possibility of remaining in Spain for another year and seeing out the remainder of his contract.

Merino was left of the Real Sociedad squad for Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Real Vallecano with head coach Imanol Alguacil confirming that decision was due to ongoing talks over the 28-year-old’s future.

‘Mikel Merino is not in the squad because I decided so,’ he told reporters on Saturday.

‘He was ready to help the team. We will see if he will be with us next week or not. There are open negotiations.’

Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay later warned his side would not be bullied into negotiating a fee that falls short of their valuation.

‘Merino was clear that he didn’t want to say he was renewing [his contract] and then leave. It wasn’t a surprise to us.

‘Unfortunately, one of the teams we didn’t want to show up showed up.

‘We will talk to Arsenal and defend the interests of La Real. When we consider that the offer is good, we will say yes.

‘We know what Merino’s wishes are, so we decided that he should not be called up [for the game against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday].’

While the Spanish side are holding firm, Cope report Merino’s future is expected to be resolved ‘in a matter of days’.