Newcastle's Spanish protégé Mikel Merino good enough to interest Real Madrid and Barcelona, says Rob Elliot

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Mikel Merino was not even a permanent Newcastle player when the song began in the Gallowgate End of St James' Park, to the tune of the Kinks’ Lola , that he was, in fact, better than Cesc Fabregas.

Very soon came a flattering comparison to the leggy passing style of compatriot Xabi Alonso. Merino was 21, but neither reference to his decorated countrymen bothered him.

Earlier this month, to the relief of Newcastle supporters, his transfer from Borussia Dortmund was made permanent. There is every chance Newcastle have pulled off the signing of the season with the entire deal costing the club less than £10m.

The only major concern among those supporters, however, is the gnawing sense that at some point Barcelona or Real Madrid will come calling for the Spanish Under-21 star, who scored a fine goal with his left foot against Italy and another with his right against Slovakia for his country.

To that, on Saturday at a rain-soaked St James’ Park came a header with four minutes remaining against Crystal Palace that took his new club to seventh place in the Premier League.

The Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot loves the north east so much he has made it his family home, despite coming from Kent, and he forcibly insists the emerging unity at Newcastle means the club is no longer seen as a stepping stone.

However he accepts Barcelona and Real Madrid will one day come calling for a central midfielder who has such a rich array of skills in his game.

“Yes, I certainly see him in a bracket where clubs like that (Barcelona and Real Madrid) come into it, considering his age,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time before the very top clubs come looking at him, but we want to be a top club, too.

“We want him to stay here, we don’t want to see any of our top players up for sale again. That is the mentality now. We bring them through, the manager is here. He’s a fantastic signing from the manager and the scouting department and hopefully we’ll just see him develop as a player and he fulfils all that potential at Newcastle.

“Micky has come on and done brilliantly, and it’s great because it shows in every position you’ve got to perform. It’s brilliant news he’s signed permanently, great for the club that such a talented young player has committed himself.

“He’s very, very good. You can see from his performances the talent. There’s no reason why he can’t go on to play at the very top. I certainly see no reason why not. At the moment he is our player and we have to make sure he takes us to the top. We’ve now got a brilliant bunch of midfielders and one of them is having to miss out every week.”

That Merino had to come off the bench on Saturday, as he did in Newcastle’s previous game against Southampton, spoke of a growing squad at Rafa Benitez’s disposal. Jonjo Shelvey, his replacement, was one of three English players who did well under the watching eye of Gareth Southgate. Jamaal Lascelles and Andros Townsend were also good in a largely uneventful game. The former Newcastle player Yohan Cabaye should have been sent off for a crude challenge on DeAndre Yedlin in the 28th minute, and that looked significant, until Matt Ritchie’s left wing corner was met by the head of Merino (even if it was met by the defending James McCarthur first).

The acclaim, in the pouring rain, was his, once more.