Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti has placed the name of Dries Mertens amongst those who left the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this summer. During his first pre-season conference, the former Roma manager thanked some of the Partenopei’s long-serving stalwarts that cut ties with the club in recent weeks.
“Some players left, and they took away some things with them. People like Ospina, Ghoulam, Koulibaly, Mertens, and Insigne,” he said, as relayed by Calciomercato.
If there was a doubt surrounding Mertens’ future at Napoli, it is now officially gone. The Belgian forward severed ties with the Partenopei after eight illustrious years. He swapped PSV Eindhoven for Naples in 2013 and went on to become the club’s all-time top goalscorer.
In 397 appearances for Napoli, Mertens netted 148 goals and provided 90 assists. His name will forever go down in the club folklore, marking him as one of the greatest players to wear the famous blue jersey.
It could have been of the reasons Aurelio De Laurentiis hoped to tie him down to a new deal. Mertens’ contract at Napoli ran out earlier in July, but the club tried to convince him to sign a short-term extension. To no avail as it seems.
After leading the line in southern Italy for years, Mertens slipped down the pecking order last season. He tallied just 16 Serie A starts in 2021/22. Yet, it proved more than enough to hit double digits, as he finished the previous league campaign with 11 goals and two assists.
The 35-year-old will move on to new pastures in the coming weeks. Following an impressive stint at Napoli, several exciting destinations could be on the cards for Mertens.
Lazio, Royal Antwerp and Olympique Marseille have emerged as potential candidates to sign the veteran striker. Since he would rather leave Italy after halting his career at Napoli, the Biancocelesti hypothesis looks a bit far-fetched.