Chelsea joined by Inter Milan in transfer race for Dries Mertens with striker available on FREE from Napoli in summer

INTER MILAN are set to rival Chelsea for the free transfer of Dries Mertens in the summer, according to reports in Italy.

Napoli want to extend the Belgian forward's stay past the summer but the two parties are said to be far apart in their personal terms talks.

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The latest reports outlined a £6.3million-a-year wage demand from the 32-year-old that is far above the £3.4m annual salary he is on now, which Napoli are seeking to match.

Therefore an exit is considered likely and Inter believe they can nab Mertens off their Serie A rivals.

According to , the Nerazzurri have begun negotiations with the player's entourage to gauge a deal.

Competition comes in the form of Chelsea while Manchester United and Arsenal have also been linked.

The Blues made a big play to sign Mertens in January with rumours of a £4.7m bid.

Having failed to pull off the deal, Frank Lampard barred Olivier Giroud from departing Stamford Bridge despite deals formulated with Tottenham and Lazio.

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It was also speculated that Mertens planned on seeing out the season at Napoli to break their all-time goalscoring record.

Amid a tough season for the Stadio San Paolo outfit, the forward has hit 11 goals to come within touching distance of Marek Hamsik's tally of 122 goals.

And Mertens proved he has still got it on the weekend with a sumptuous curling winner past Cagliari to lift his side to ninth.