Dries Mertens
Chelsea were far from the side that they were in the 2016/17 season. Antonio Conte and his men failed to build a strong title defence and eventually finished 5th in the league, missing out on next year’s Champions League. The Blues did manage to claim the FA Cup trophy, winning 1-0 against rivals Manchester United, courtesy of an Eden Hazard Penalty.
After a disappointing domestic campaign, Conte’s future at the club is said to be uncertain. Along with the manager, a number of players’ futures are also up in the air.
It is only a matter of time before Maurizio Sarri takes over as Chelsea’s boss. The new coach has a lot of work ahead and one of them is solving the striker conundrum at Stamford Bridge. £155,000-a-week Spanish forward Morata didn’t really enjoy the best of starts to his Chelsea career.
There are chances that Sarri could sell him and bring another striker in and it could be Dries Mertens. The Belgian striker is reportedly a target of interest for the Blues.
Mertens joined the club in 2013 and went on to make 170 appearances for the club, scoring 68 goals. Over the last three seasons, Sarri has turned him into a super striker, who is deadly in front of goal. The little Belgian has impressive pace for a 31-year-old.
He’s also a good dribbler and an exceptional finisher in front of goal. Mertens made 35 appearances in the Serie A, scoring 18 goals and providing 6 assists. Sarri has been preparing himself for a move to Stamford Bridge and believes that Mertens would be the perfect man to line up on the right-hand side of a front three, as he does for Belgium. The 31-year-old also scored an incredible volley against Panama in the World Cup last week.
He would thrive in a solo forward role with the Blues. The striker would also be able to play a supporting role alongside Olivier Giroud. With Giroud’s hold up play and Mertens’ quick feet, the pair would send a lot of teams packing.
The pair of Mertens and Sarri also shares a close bond from their time together at Napoli. At the age of 31, Mertens is still one of the best forwards in Europe, who is capable of taking the Premier League by storm. But any deal will have to wait until the end of the World Cup, as negotiations will be hard to discuss as long as Belgium are in Russia.
