Chelsea table £4.7m bid for Belgium forward
Chelsea are looking to boost their attacking options after making a £4.7million bid for Napoli forward Dries Mertens, according to reports in Italy.
Frank Lampard is keen to add more competition for main first-choice striker Tammy Abraham as they look to cement their place in the top four.
According to Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri, the Blues have made a bid for the Belgian forward.
Chelsea face competition from Inter Milan but Lampard knows he needs to add more firepower to his squad, who have won just two of their last six Premier League games.
Olivier Giroud looks set to move on from Stamford Bridge – with Lazio said to have agreed a deal depending on the Dries Mertens deal – and Michy Batshauyi hasn’t convinced the Chelsea boss.
It could be a tough ask for Lampard to tempt Mertens to London in this transfer window with the 32-year-old keen to become Napoli’s record goalscorer.
Mertens sits just four goals behind club legend Marik Hamsik on 122 and is out of contract at the end of the season.
Chelsea bid £4.7m for Dries Mertens but face battle to land Napoli star thanks to goal record dream https://t.co/h4eiiAVyp9
— The Sun – Chelsea (@SunChelsea) January 30, 2020
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But Napoli could consider cashing in on the Belgian to avoid the risk of letting him go on a free transfer in the summer.
Inter Milan would be open to a deal in the summer which suits both them and Mertens, while Chelsea would prefer to do business immediately.
Mertens netted 34 times in the 16/17 campaign after former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri converted him from a winger into a striker.