Premier League ball: Introducing Nike Merlin, the 2019/20 Premier League Season

The match-ball for the 2019/20 Premier League season was officially unveiled by Nike earlier last month and the American multinational corporation received plaudits universally for their state of the art design and attention to detail.

The Nike Merlin, as it's been referred to since the commencement of the 2018/19 season, is the most advanced ball yet and Nike have incorporated some interesting new details whilst retaining the important features of its predecessor.

Although technically last year's design has been retained, Nike, in an attempt to introduce a fresher look have added pink and navy colored panels. The pink panel comprises of black splashes and more importantly, the Premier League logo is contained in it.

Until the 2017/18 season, Nike's design included 32 panels but since the start of last season, they've introduced a design with a staggeringly low 4 panels, which would help with the aerodynamics and aid the players to have better control while striking the ball.

"Where there were once 32 panels to a ball, the new Nike Merlin will have just four, a world-first," said a Premier League press release in 2018.

Fewer panels would open up more sweet spots, which would enable players to pass or shoot with better accuracy. With only 4 fuse-welded panels, ball striking has been made a whole lot easier as it reduces the seam and increases the striking surface.

“We wanted to design a ball that specifically illustrated the traits of Premier League football. A ball that felt hyper-technical and precise in nature but also inspired by this English culture of living and breathing Premier League football,” said Kieran Ronan, General Manager of Nike Global Equipment.

This is Nike's 19th season as the official suppliers of the Premier League ball and their affiliation is set to continue until 2025 at least. Whilst the Premier League and the Serie A will continue their association with Nike, La Liga will have a Puma ball from next season. The Nike Merlin is not available to be purchased yet but it shouldn't be long before it's up for sale.