MIKEL MERINO admits it will feel like a “film or video game” when he lines up against one of his footballing idols, Cesc Fabregas, tomorrow, but the Newcastle United midfielder is determined to eventually emulate the Spanish superstar.

Merino will lock horns with Fabregas as Newcastle take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and as a 21-year-old Spanish central midfielder, he freely admits he has spent most of life looking up to the World Cup winner.

Merino was only seven when Fabregas made his English football debut at Arsenal, and since then, the 30-year-old has developed into one of the most successful players of the Premier League era, winning two league titles and an FA Cup winners’ medal.

Fabregas has also won 110 caps with Spain’s national team, and as an Under-21 international making his way in the game, Merino will feel privileged to be on the same field as the Chelsea midfielder this weekend.

That does not mean he will be overawed though, and while he is still in his first Premier League season, having joined Newcastle from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, he is determined to one day emulate the player he will be facing tomorrow.

“Chelsea have some great Spanish players,” said Merino, who is set to retain his place in Newcastle’s starting line-up after returning from injury to make his first start for almost two months in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at West Brom. “They have great players all over the field, but it is obviously the Spanish players that I know most about and have grown up watching.

“I am looking forward to playing against Fabregas – he has been a great player for Spain and in the Premier League. For a player like me, who is young and playing my first matches as a professional, it is incredible to play against someone like Cesc Fabregas.

“You feel like you are in a film or a video game. It is amazing to be able to play against one of these players, but it makes me even more determined to improve myself so I can fight with them.

“I want to show that I am at the same level they are, and deserve to be playing against them. Why not? Why not try to eventually get better than them?”

For now, Merino is happy to be establishing himself as a Premier League regular after he failed to make an impact at Borussia Dortmund.

His time in Germany did not go to plan, but Newcastle wasted no time turning his initial loan move into a permanent transfer after his earliest displays in a black-and-white shirt confirmed both his natural talent and his ability to take the physical challenges of the Premier League in his stride.

Merino has not shirked a challenge since moving to Tyneside, and his mental bravery has also been evident in his willingness to seek out possession even in the most difficult of circumstances. That was apparent on Tuesday night as his positive passing and driving runs helped Newcastle stage an impressive second-half revival to claim a point.

“My mentality is that I always want to try to get on the ball, even if it is at a difficult stage of the game,” he said. “That is the way I have always played – I always want to get more touches of the ball, and I always want to play hard and strong, with intensity. This is the mentality we have to have.”

Newcastle missed that side of Merino’s play when he was absent, and while he continues to feel the effects of the back problem that sidelined him for more than six weeks, he is improving with every game.

“My fitness is improving,” he said. “I am not at 100 per cent yet, but I am here to help the team. It doesn’t matter if I am a little bit injured or 100 per cent good, I will still give everything I can on the pitch.

“Sometimes, things do not go as you would want, but the important thing is that I feel better every time I play. I can feel my fitness coming back. I am not at 100 per cent yet, either with my back or physically with my fitness, but I am improving and I am happy with that.”

He was also satisfied with Newcastle’s battling spirit at the Hawthorns. Trailing by two goals at the start of the second half, it would have been easy for Rafael Benitez’s players to have slipped to a fifth successive defeat. Instead, they displayed commendable resolve to dig out the point that lifted them back up to 12th in the table.

“I think the fight we showed in the last game is the most important thing that a team can have,” said Merino. “That kind of mentality, and the way we fought for each ball, is what you have to have if you want to achieve anything.

“We did not lose our mind even though we were 2-0 behind. We kept fighting, and that is the spirit this team has. We have to keep going showing that character now.

“We know it will be a really hard game at the weekend, and we will have to do a lot of working and a lot of running. But we will be going there with a positive result behind us, looking to play positive football.

“We might have to make a few adjustments in defence because we are letting in too many goals, but we showed some good signs to come back (at West Brom) and we know what we have to do.”