According to Belgian outlet Het Nieuwsblad, Newcastle United will make an audacious move to sign Belgian forward Dries Mertens, should they gain promotion back to the top flight.
With 19 goals this season, the Napoli star is the third top scorer in Serie A, seeing him attract interest from several clubs across Europe. Talksport however, reported yesterday that the Belgian is yet to sign a contract extension, as the Italian club grow increasingly fearful of losing their top scorer in the summer.
This is no doubt a transfer link that must be taken with a pinch of salt, but given Benitez’s undoubted ambitions, should Newcastle get promoted, a high profile signing should not be ruled out over the summer, to lay down a marker of the club’s intentions.
Whilst Napoli are a club Benitez has previously managed, where old contacts would no doubt exist, convincing a player of Mertens’ calibre to sign for Newcastle would be a completely different matter altogether.
Here’s hoping, but I, for one, certainly won’t be holding my breath with this one!
