FANS of Manchester United and Arsenal will be excited by Napoli star Dries Mertens’ latest Instagram post.
The forward hinted at a goodbye to the Italian city on social media, and is expected to leave as early as January after a dressing room rift.
Dries Mertens could be available in January for as little as £8.5 millionCredit: Reuters
Napoli fans flooded the comments fearing an exit, with one saying “Dries please stay” and another telling him “Dries you are Neopolitan, don’t go away.”
Mertens is likely to leave Napoli, possibly as early as January, after being fined £145,000 for his part in a revolt against Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.
Players at the club refused to take part in a special training camp organised by the owner in an attempt to improve recent poor results.
If Arsenal manage to land Mertens in the summer, he would become new boss Mikel Arteta’s first signing.
Former Arsenal captain Arteta was confirmed on Friday as the new head coach at the Emirates, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal.
Mertens has played over 200 times for Napoli since joining in 2013, but it is thought that he may be available in January for as little as £8.5 million.
Manchester United are also aware of Mertens’ situation, with attacking reinforcements needed at Old Trafford.
19-year-old Salzburg striker Erling Haaland has also been strongly linked with a move to Manchester.
Haaland has reportedly told Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he wants to sign for United.
United fans were sent wild after he was pictured at Sola airport in Norway, but his dad denied that he was flying to Manchester to sign a deal.
Both Arsenal and Man Utd have had difficult premier league campaigns so far, and the signing of Mertens would boost both teams in pushing for the top four in the second half of the season.
It is understood that there is also interest from Germany, with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund keen on the 32-year-old.
The forward has been capped 86 times by Belgium and would bring valuable experience as well as goals to the premier league.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
