London, July 28: Newcastle United on Friday (July 28) confirmed the signing of Spanish Under-21 international Mikel Merino on a season-long loan deal from Borussia Dortmund.

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Born in Pamplona, Merino made more than 60 appearances for hometown club Osasuna, before moving to Dortmund at the end of the 2015-16 campaign,reports xinhua news agency.

Merino told the Newcastle club website: "It feels good and I'm very happy to be here, to be part of this club. I'm looking forward to touching the ball, meeting my new team-mates and starting to play football."

Coach Rafa Benitez said: "Mikel is a midfielder with talent, an Under-21 international for Spain. He's a good size, has quality on the ball and he's very, very focused and professional."

The Spanish coach said that Merino has to demonstrate his skills and hopefully he can enjoy playing at Newcastle for a long time.

"I know it's a great club and a really nice city. I had different options but I think this is the right place for me to play," Merino added.

The 21-year-old is the fifth player to join the Magpies this summer. Jacob Murphy and Javier Manquillo arrived last week.

IANS