On January 29th, Sky Italia reported Chelsea have ‘swooped down hard’ for Napoli’s Dries Mertens.
Het Laatste Nieuws claims the Belgium international’s name was first discussed internally at Stamford Bridge in December, but for next season as his contract with the Serie A side expires in the summer.
Frank Lampard has the services of Tammy Abraham, Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud as the three recognised strikers at the club.
The France international wants to leave in the winter market, while Batshuayi hasn’t convinced so far. Therefore, the Blues are looking to bring in a new striker before window closes on Friday.
Having failed to sign other targets, Chelsea turned their attention towards Mertens. HLN adds the Premier League side are not officially confirming their interest in the 32-year-old, but they aren’t denying it either.
Chelsea want to take Mertens immediately, but Napoli would rather not see him leave in January. For now, the transfer remains a ‘complicated’ file.
Mertens’ initial idea was to leave Napoli after becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer. He’s four goals short of reaching the milestone. It remains to be seen if Chelsea can change the attacker’s mind.
