Chelsea ‘prepared to pay €5-6m’ to have player ‘immediately’ – ‘Waiting for an answer that should arrive today’

Earlier on Thursday, we covered a story from Het Laastste Nieuws regarding Chelsea’s interest in Dries Mertens.

The Belgian is out of contract at the end of the season, and with Frank Lampard’s side struggling to find the back of the net in recent weeks, a new forward has been a priority late on in this window.

Mertens represents a fairly cheap option, but some hurdles stand in the way, like the fact he’s four goals away from being Napoli’s all time goalscorer, which is an achievement he wants.

However, that hasn’t stopped Chelsea from coming forward, as Gazzetta dello Sport report the Premier League side are ‘prepared to pay €5-6m’ to have him ‘immediately’.

Aurelio de Laurentiis is having a think about it all, as Mertens ‘could come in handy once again between now and the end of the season’.

Chelsea are ‘waiting for an answer that should arrive today at some point’.

With less than 48 hours left in the transfer window, every minute becomes precious, so the sooner Napoli reply, the better for Roman Abramovich’s club.