Interesting move. Injuries have basically ruined the last year and a half, and he seems to have lost a step. But he’s a good leader and should be a solid 4th CB.
It seems that Berizzo is rotating between Pareja - Kjaer and Carrico - Lenglet. Something like pair 1 and pair 2. But would really like to see Mercado as CB for once, as he’s too slow at RB, especially when trying to help Navas.
Also should experiment more with the pairings and give them minutes. It’s good that in the league at least, vs. medium to lower teams, any of the 4-5 (incl. Mercado) could be beneficial at CB.
I hope this means he’ll be fit to play most of the season. Honestly, we need him to be our 3rd choice CB, cause after that Liverpool display, we can’t rely on Pareja to be 1st choice.
But I’m happy with this news regardless, as it allows us to keep one of the few (2) players that won that EL 3-peat.