Agent claims Napoli star would be open to Prem move amid Man Utd links

Dries Mertens; Lorenzo Insigne TEAMtalk

The agent of Napoli’s Dries Mertens has talked up the chances of the forward making a move to the Premier League in 2020.

Mertens has enjoyed a prolific start to the season and is now just four goals away from equalling Marek Hamsik’s record as Napoli’s all-time leading scorer.

However, with his contract expiring at the end of the season, there is a chance that he could call time on his spell with the Serie A club – with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur reportedly in talks with his entourage already.

The Belgian striker is one of several players caught up in a crisis situation at Napoli, where owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has turned on the squad after they refused to accept his decision to put them in a training camp in November.

And agent Federico Pastorello admits that an avenue could have opened for Mertens to leave the club and head to England.

“If I think about a good opportunity in the market, it would be Mertens from Napoli,” he told Sky Sports News. “He is out of contract [in the summer].

“He is an amazing player. I think he will be soon the best scorer in the history of the club. He has proven himself in the Champions League because he scored in that competition and the national team. I think a player like that, out of contract is an amazing opportunity, even maybe for January.

“Every player really wants to play in the Premier League at least once. So I think he would be very happy to play in the Premier League. I know him very well tactically and technically and I think he can be a successful player for the Premier League.”

The 32-year-old has scored four goals from five Champions League appearances this season, including a well-taken strike in the draw against Liverpool.

 

Mertens has also been linked with Manchester United, who have struggled to find enough depth in attack following the summer departure of another Pastorello client, Romelu Lukaku.

In the same interview, Pastorello opened the door for ex-United winger Wilfried Zaha to leave Crystal Palace in January.

“I think he really deserves a new challenge and a top club, because he is really a top player,” he said. “It is surprising me because I read about a possible move in the summer but he stayed again. But this season he is proving that he is very focused and concentrated. So think he could be another good opportunity in the January market.

“The January market can [usually] be really calm. As the number of transfers there is about one third as many than in the summer. But there are some very good and interesting opportunities for the clubs that sell, because maybe a club really needs that player and is ready to pay a little bit more because of emergency.

“There have been a lot of changes in the Premier League in terms of managers. Sometimes when you do that, you need to face his needs tactically. So expect maybe Tottenham being a bit more protagonist in the market, maybe Manchester United too.

“Let’s see what happens in Chelsea too, because the ban is not sure. If they remove that, they may need to do something. In Europe, there are some clubs like Inter and AC Milan that maybe need to improve their squad.”