Despite impressing as a stand-in for Arkadiusz Milik as a No.9 this season, could this summer be the perfect time to cash in on the Belgian?
After becoming one of the sensations of Serie A this season, Napoli attacker Dries Mertens will no doubt be subject to plenty of speculation when the transfer window dealings start heating up over the summer months.
Turning 30-years-old on Saturday, the Belgian international was thought to be on his way out of Naples anyway – his wife growing tired of life on the south of the peninsula – but looks poised to sign a new improved contract until 2021.
Providing the former PSV Eindhoven star can keep his wife happy, remaining with the Partenopei is a no-brainer for Mertens, particularly if doubling his money to €4 million-a-year, as around the figures rumoured to be on offer from several Premier League clubs.
Whether it is such a good deal for Napoli, though, is another matter and it would be hard to begrudge president Aurelio De Laurentiis getting the diminutive frontman to sign on the dotted line purely to increase his ticket price.
With 22 goals in 31 Serie A outings this term, Mertens is already said to be worth around €35 million to the Azzurri. An astonishing for a 30-year-old with just over a year left on a contract and who is essentially experiencing something of a purple patch in Italy that coincided with a move to a central role.
Had it not been for the misfortune of €35 million summer signing Arek Milik – a cruciate ligament injury in October ruling him out for three months – the Belgian would have once again spent the season playing second fiddle to Lorenzo Insigne in a wide role.
Mertens and the Italian have fought an almost two man battle for the same spot in the Napoli first-team during his first three campaigns in Serie A – the Belgian averaging just 48 minutes per appearance, despite featuring in almost every fixture.
Throughout those years, coach Maurizio Sarri and predecessor Rafael Benitez saw Mertens very much as an impact substitute and with a relatively impressive goal every 212 minutes would indicate they were right.
At 23, the significant investment made and showing real signs of promise before injury, Milik will no doubt get a chance to impress again centrally when next season begins, so where would that leave Napoli and Mertens?
As an astute businessman, De Laurentiis knows this summer will provide the optimum time to cash in on Mertens and use the money to strengthen elsewhere. It will not be the same as investing the vast amounts received for Edinson Cavani and Gonzalo Higuain, but how often do you get the chance to sell a 30-year-old at nearly three times more than they were purchased?
If the Partenopei start next term as they did this with Milik leading the line, the 67-year-old will kick himself if he sees the Partenopei thriving on the pitch and is staring down at the bench watching the ex-Gent youngster’s value reduce before his eyes.
Whether the Belgian remains in Naples or not, history suggests that performances will start to reduce just as with any other player post-30, and he will certainly become less productive over the next four years. Why not bank the cash and let the attacker have one last payday elsewhere.
With little attachment to the city, Mertens can leave knowing he has made a significant contribution to the Napoli cause, get to experience another of Europe’s major championships, possibly win some silverware and, most importantly, keep his wife happy.
