Mikel San José: Meet the former Liverpool youngster who came good at Athletic Bilbao

Former Liverpool youngster Mikel San José is now a Spain international with 300 appearances for Athletic Bilbao. He speaks to Sky Sports about joining Rafael Benitez's Spanish revolution,

learning the ropes from Xabi Alonso, and why he couldn't resist returning to the Basque Country.

Mikel San José was 17 when Liverpool called. The versatile defender was a promising Spanish youth international who had only just completed his first full season in Athletic Bilbao's academy. It had never crossed his mind that one of Europe's most prestigious clubs might be watching.
"I was at home in Pamplona with my family," he tells Sky Sports, recalling the moment he heard Rafael Benitez wanted to take him to Merseyside. "I wasn't even 18 and I was happy at Athletic. The idea that such a big club could be interested in me had never even entered my head."

It was 2007 and Liverpool were preparing to offer the youngster a three-year contract. Packing up and moving to England alone was a daunting prospect for a young lad with deep ties to the Basque Country, but San José couldn't say no. "It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," he says.
He would return to his boyhood club without ever making a senior appearance for Liverpool. Yet 10 years later, perched on a concrete stand overlooking two of the pristine pitches at Athletic's picturesque Lezama training ground, San José remembers it as the move that made him the player he is today.

That player is a 27-year-old Spain international in the eighth season of his second stint at Athletic. San José started out as a centre-back, but he is now a key figure in defensive midfield for Ernesto Valverde's side. He is combative without the ball but composed with it, and he has an eye for goal too.

Mikel San Jose tackles Barcelona's Lionel Messi during a game at the Nou Camp

Last year, he scored from 50 yards out in Athletic's Spanish Super Cup win over Barcelona. In the summer, his impressive club performances were rewarded with a call-up to Vicente del Bosque's Euro 2016 squad.
Much has changed since those formative years at Liverpool, but for San José they are unforgettable. "It was a hard decision but I never regretted it," he says. "It was good for me. The player I am now is thanks to the experience I had there. Spending two years in Liverpool, surrounded by world-class players and coaches who helped every player improve, it was very important."