Napoli’s Dries Mertens is reportedly attracting interest from Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham.
Napoli’s Dries Mertens shoots
According to Calcio Mercato, scouts from Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur watched Napoli take on Juventus in order to see Dries Mertens in action.
On Sunday evening, Napoli hosted rivals Juventus in a hotly-anticipated clash, given that striker Gonzalo Higuain was returning to the Stadio San Paolo for the first time since trading Napoli for Juve last summer.
After Sami Khedira had given Juve the lead, Napoli hit back, with Marek Hamsik grabbing the equaliser as the two sides ended with a point apiece in a 1-1 draw.
It seems that the biggest game of the weekend in Italy caught the eye of some Premier League clubs though, as Calcio Mercato report that scouts from Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were in attendance at the Stadio San Paolo.
Whilst a number of Napoli players could be future Premier League players, it’s claimed that the trio were having attacker Dries Mertens watched after his stunning season so far.
The Belgian attacker – who has historically played out wide – has mostly played as a striker this season following Higuain’s departure and the severe injury to Arkadiusz Milik, and he has thrived.
Napoli’s Dries Mertens
Mertens has hit a staggering 25 goals in 35 games in Serie A and Champions League games combined, whilst he’s also notched an impressive seven assists in his most impressive season to date.
The 29-year-old’s goalscoring exploits have unsurprisingly attracted great interest, but Tottenham seem like the least likely destination of the three linked English clubs, as it seems hard to believe that Daniel Levy would sanction a big-money deal for a 29-year-old having been burned by Roberto Soldado in 2013.
Liverpool are seeking another winger this summer, but whether Mertens would want to play second fiddle to Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane remains to be seen. Manchester United have rotated the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard all season, and Mertens could give Jose Mourinho an additional goal threat – though Mertens could simply be a fallback in case the Red Devils can’t land Antoine Griezmann this summer.
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