New kid on the block triumphing at San Mames

"I played the sort of game that every Athletic player dreams of!" These are the words of Sabin Merino, the latest gem to come out of Lezama. If there were any doubts about him, he put them to bed last weekend. Ernesto Valverde decided to rest Aritz Aduriz and he turned to Merino to stand in for Athletic’s top scorer this season, playing him as a lone striker up front. The 24-year-old paid him back with goals; two of them, to be precise.

He is the most famous inhabitant of Urduliz, a village just outside Bilbao. Everyone knows him. At the age of nine, he joined Athletic's famous youth academy in Lezama. On 28 June 2015, he won promotion with Athletic Club B against Cadiz. Merino was one of the standout players in that squad, scoring 18 goals.

Shortly after being promoted, the club informed him and Iñigo Lekue that they would be playing their preseason with the first team. On 14 August, he made his official debut wearing the Athletic Club first-team shirt, and it was one to remember both for him and all football fans, especially the Athletic faithful. Merino tormented Barcelona defender Dani Alves and he provided an assist for Aduriz to score their second goal after a wonderful individual piece of play in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.

"He has something that draws him close to goal. You're always in with a chance of scoring if you're like that," said Valverde after the game against Betis last weekend. He has now scored a total of five goals and is the third highest scorer in the team, only bettered by Aduriz and Iñaki Williams. In the Europa League, he found the back of the net against Zilina and again in the second leg against Olympique de Marseille. He really made a name for himself that night. With his team 1-0 down in the 87th minute, Merino flung himself headlong at a cross to level the scores and send Athletic Club through to the last 16.

In the Liga BBVA, his first goal came against Real Madrid to make it 1-1. He went on to score at Mestalla, aginst Eibar, and then netted his brace against Betis. He recently extended his contract with Athletic until 2019, so we should be seeing plenty more of him.