Liverpool are reportedly interested in Dries Mertens.
The prospect of Liverpool signing Dries Mertens should be a scary one for the rest of the Premier League.
The Napoli ace is a free agent in the summer, and TuttoMercatoWeb have claimed Liverpool are prepared to offer him a contract.
This is a move which would make the league’s best team even better, even if their sheer dominance this season may be hard to replicate.
Mertens is a player who would suit Liverpool’s system. He can play both as a striker and as a winger, and he would offer the Reds valuable depth.
But he is better than being merely a back-up.
Mertens has the potential to put serious pressure on the Reds’ front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.
Firmino is most at risk from Mertens’ potential arrival.
Even in his least productive years in Italy so far, Mertens has scored 12 goals, down from 19 the previous year.
Firmino meanwhile has just 11 so far.
Fans may point to Firmino’s ‘unseen defensive work’, but it would be wrong to paint Mertens as a naive luxury player.
He has played in one of Europe’s most technical and tactical leagues in Serie A and has worked under former Premier League boss Rafa Benitez.
He would be a strong contributor to the team in both the defensive and attacking phases of the game, and he could be an alternative Liverpool need.
Competition can bring the best out of players, and Mertens might help Firmino get back to his best goalscoring form.
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