Dries Mertens: Latest winner of Napoli’s Rafa roulette

Dries Mertens has become something of coach Rafael Benitez’s latest flavour-of-the-month player, and the Belgian winger deserves a more regular presence in the Napoli’s starting lineup.

After Lorenzo Insigne had suffered a knee injury in November, Rafa Benitez has not had a stable left-winger. However, recent performances suggest that Mertens must be a certainty in that position.

Benitez has been rotating Mertens and Jonathan De Guzman in the left-wing role in Insigne’s absence, which is rather surprising for a couple of reasons. Mertens is a natural winger whereas De Guzman is best suited to playing more centrally.

De Guzman played on the left-wing and scored a goal in Napoli’s 3–3 draw with Cagliari in Week 12, which was more exceptional than proof of some tactical masterstroke.

The Dutch international has performed better when he has deputised for Marek Hamsik in the trequartista (playmaker) role, especially in the Partenopei’s 3–0 win at home to Swiss club Young Boys — in the Europa League group stages — when he scored all three goals.

De Guzman does not have the acceleration or ball control that Mertens possesses though, and the Belgian should be considered ahead of someone playing out of position.

Surprisingly the 27-year-old has only started nine Serie A matches so far, but still managed to score once and assist four in Napoli’s last six matches.

This run of form started in the 2–2 draw against Empoli. The Tuscans went 2–0 up, until Mertens took up the corner to create a goal for Duvan Zapata and get Napoli back into the match.

The Belgian came off the bench for Hamsik against Juventus and although the Partenopei eventually lost 3–1, the tricky winger was the one who showed the most initiative. Mertens took the corner that resulted in Miguel Britos’ goal as well as the Juventus defenders struggled to contain his weaving runs.

Napoli struggled in their latest Serie A match against Lazio but they only needed a solitary goal from Gonzalo Higuain to win in Rome. It was Mertens who had the vision to play the defence-splitting through-ball for the Argentine’s game-winner.

But of course the question is who should make way if Mertens deserves a spot in Napoli’s starting lineup?

Jose Callejon is a player worth considering. Despite scoring nine goals in 19 Serie A starts, he has only scored once in the last nine games and was seen more often defending than attacking against Lazio. If Mertens starts on the left, new signing Manolo Gabbiadini could play on the right.

If Benitez is keen to keep De Guzman in the lineup, his forward line should be similar to the one that started against Lazio and with Hamsik on the bench.

The Napoli captain did not start against AC Milan or against the Biancocelesti and only counts two assists in his last nine matches. Those assists came in the 4–1 triumph over this season’s whipping boys Cesena, meaning Hamsik needs to work harder to earn his place in the Napoli team.

Napoli are joint third with Sampdoria in the Serie A table with 33 points and will host Genoa in the next round on Monday night.

If the Partenopei want to be outright third or be placed higher in the table, Benitez must from henceforth go with the more sure-fire option and simply start Dries Mertens.

Follow Vito Doria on Twitter: @VitoCDoria