Turning 33 today, Dries Mertens has a lot to think about on his birthday.
While he will be celebrating, he will also be pondering what the next step in his career should be, with a move to Chelsea a very realistic option.
That’s what Corriere dello Sport on Wednesday are saying, reporting that two clubs (three if you count Napoli) are in the race to sign him.
His current side are still waiting on his decision, and while Inter have an ‘indisputable charm’ about them, they also represent a ‘torment’, since Mertens would ideally not want to stay in Italy unless he wears one shirt, ‘that of Napoli’.
This leaves Chelsea as the main alternative option for the player, and it’s a ‘strong temptation for him’.
Corriere make it clear this ‘isn’t simply because of the financial conditions’, but they also ‘cause him to feel new sensations’, like the possibility of playing in the Premier League, in a ‘seducing’ league, at a club with ‘indisputable traditions’ and a manager like Frank Lampard, described as ‘a legend of that macro-universe that represents a considerable attraction’.
It’s explained that, as things stand, the order of preference is Napoli, Chelsea and then Inter, which makes sense.
Staying in Naples would be the easy option, one where he’d be guaranteed first-team football and get a chance to make that top goalscorer spot his own (he currently shares it was Marek Hamšik).
As for Chelsea, they are a new exciting adventure, putting them at the top of his list of favoured destinations, in front of Inter, who are a good club, but a move there could be seen as a betrayal to all the years he spent in the south of Italy.
It’s not an easy decision to make, and we doubt he’ll take it today, as he’ll probably spend it relaxing and celebrating.
It is his birthday, after all.
