Manchester United are set to face some stiff competition from Chelsea in their race to sign Dries Mertens from Napoli during the summer – as per reports.
Mertens is set to become a free agent in the summer but originally the player was supposed to be given a new deal by Napoli. Now though due to the coronavirus pandemic, the financial situation at the club has changed meaning Mertens will be allowed to leave for free.
And over the past couple of weeks, Manchester United were said to be the frontrunners in signing the 32-year-old.
Man United are looking to bring in a new centre-forward in the summer and despite reports that the club are going to offer Odion Ighalo a permanent deal, rumours have constantly linked Dries Mertens to the OT outfit.
Now though it seems like Solskjaer will have some tough competition on his hands since Chelsea seems to have reignited their interest in the player.
Where will Dries Mertens go in the summer?
Chelsea had tried to sign Dries Mertens in January but Napoli had refused to sell him then. But now that things are different the Blues might very well convince the player to join then at the end of the season.
While Manchester United also remain strong favourites to sign him but we think the forward will not consider a move to Old Trafford due to the level of competition.
United already have Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood and Ighalo amongst their ranks and are sure to bring in a top-quality striker like Harry Kane in the summer.
And since this will be the last big move Dries Mertens makes in his professional career, he will surely not want to warm the benches and play in cup competitions at his new club.
On the other hand, if he was to join Chelsea then he has a great chance of getting regular starts since young Tammy Abraham right now is the only top-class forward available to the club.
Also, Mertens was set to sign a £6.3m-a-year deal at Napoli before the pandemic situation hit and Chelsea right now are very much capable of matching that figure. While Man United can also pay Dries Mertens handsomely, we feel Solskjaer will not look to walk in that direction especially after what happened with the likes of Di Maria and Alexis Sanchez.
