When a player like Dries Mertens’ contract is about to run out, clubs come knocking.
That’s just the way things are, and you can’t really blame them, such has been the Belgian’s ability to find the back of the net in recent years at Napoli.
With a lot of talk the 32-year-old could be leaving on a free, names of interested clubs have been floating around (especially Inter), and now a couple in the Premier League are getting involved: Tottenham and Arsenal.
According to Il Mattino in Italy, both Mauricio Pochettino’s and Unai Emery’s sides have ‘taken information in an insistent manner’ about Mertens, joining Juventus, who are described as having made an ‘enquiry’ but nothing as concrete as the English duo.
It seems that both would be more interested in a summer move rather than getting the player in January, so there would be no fee involved.
Inter are the only club mentioned as the potential danger for the next transfer window, so that’s clearly something Arsenal and Tottenham will need to keep an eye on in the coming month or so.
If Antonio Conte’s side do make a move, perhaps Raúl Sanllehí and Daniel Levy will be forced into action sooner than expected if they really want Mertens at their respective clubs.
