Who is Dries Mertens and where does he come from? Napoli forward could be heading for Premier League
Linked with a move to United, Chelsea and now West Ham, Football Whispers take a closer look at the Belgian
Napoli are currently in a fight with Roma for an automatic UEFA Champions League place, and there’s no way without the performances of 30-year-old Dries Mertens that Maurizio Sarri’s team wouldn’t be close.
Linked with a move to Manchester United, Chelsea and now West Ham United, take a closer look at the Belgian forward and what has made this season such a massive success.
He played 90 minutes in the season opener against SC Cambur, but wouldn’t feature again until the following campaign.
He signed permanently with the Dutch side and the next two years were a massive success, adding 15 goals and six assists during the 2007/08 season, and 13 and seven the following year.
That summer, he had gained enough of a reputation that FC Utrecht paid £510,000 for his services, taking him to the Eredivisie.
Playing as a winger, he took to life in the top flight well, scoring 16 times and adding 22 assists in two seasons. In 2010 he picked up two assists as they came from 2-0 down to qualifiers.
PSV Eindhoven pounced, paying over £7million for the Belgian winger, but it wasn’t until his move to Napoli in 2013 that his career and development as a centre-forward really took flight.
In 130 Serie A fixtures, Mertens has scored 47 games and 32 assists. After they lost , Sarri needed a replacement upfront and surprisingly it has been the Belgian that has stepped up.
How much will he cost?
As Napoli try and agree a new deal for the forward, one that will not only increase his release clause to £70million for the current deal that could cost any Premier League suitors around £50million this summer.
His contract runs until 2018 and with English clubs able to offer more in terms of wages, there could be a deal to be done with the Serie A side.
Where is his most likely destination this summer?
At 30 years old, the amount of money that any potential buyer would need to pay makes little sense in terms of an investment.
The mostly likely scenario would be a prolonged stay in Naples. A rumoured link to English clubs will be used for the player and his agent to get the best deal possible, giving him a new contract and Napoli get to keep their star striker.