One of Newcastle’s star men has struggled of late, but the international break gives him an opportunity to get back on track.
At the start of the season, Mikel Merino looked like being Newcastle United’s key man in their survival bid.
He hit the ground running at St James’ Park, scoring a winner against Crystal Palace and keeping Jonjo Shelvey out of the team, earning a permanent deal on Tyneside.
But Merino was injured in that game against Palace and his momentum was disrupted.
The Spaniard has struggled for minutes in 2018 and has scarcely looked like the same player again when he has made it onto the pitch, with Shelvey and Mo Diame now establishing themselves in the midfield.
Even against Royal Antwerp in a friendly on Sunday, faced with fairly ordinary opponents, Merino contributed the occasional nice touch but struggled to set the tempo. He must improve.
And so the former Borussia Dortmund man now has the opportunity to refind his groove on international duty with Spain Under-21s.
Merino has consistently starred for Spain, becoming a key man in the last year, and so this international break has come at an ideal time for him to go back into that environment and impress.
He still has a great deal of potential and Benitez will not be giving up on him just yet, but he needs to see evidence that Merino can rediscover his best form.
While it will be tough for the 21-year-old to quickly win his place back from either Shelvey or Diame, improved performances with Spain would at least give Benitez something to think about.
That is a necessity right now.
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