Chelsea ready to return with new offer to land Mertens
Chelsea will make a last-ditch attempt to sign forward Dries Mertens after their first approach was rejected by Napoli.
Napoli told Chelsea they did not want to sell Mertens before tonight’s deadline, despite the fact the Belgian’s contract expires at the end of the season.
But that will not stop Chelsea making one last offer, as they try to boost their attacking options.
Napoli’s stance means Chelsea know they face an uphill battle to land Mertens and, if they fail, it could impact on Olivier Giroud’s future. The Frenchman had been in talks with Inter Milan and has also attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Lazio.
Chelsea had been willing to allow him to leave this month, but may have to rethink if they cannot sign a forward as Tammy Abraham is nursing an ankle injury.
Abraham could be patched up to play against Leicester City tomorrow ahead of Chelsea’s two-week break, during which he should reach full fitness again.
But Frank Lampard, the head coach, may not be able to risk Giroud
leaving in case Abraham suffers a setback.
Should Chelsea reach a breakthrough on Mertens, or find an alternative late option, Giroud would be allowed to leave and could join Spurs. Chelsea are open to allowing the 33-year-old to move across London if Tottenham match their £11 million asking price, which Inter have so far not met.
Giroud’s contract runs out at the end of the season, but he wants to move immediately to boost his chances of keeping his place in the France squad for the European Championship.
Other than Mertens, Chelsea have made inquiries about Edinson Cavani over the past week, but his £360,000-a-week wages – together with Paris St-germain’s £16.9 million asking price – made a deal virtually impossible.
Chelsea decided against bidding for Krzysztof Piatek and were told they could not land long-term targets such as Jadon Sancho, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell in this window.
One striker likely to feature in the Premier League this weekend is Danny Welbeck, who has handed Watford a lift in their fight against relegation by returning from injury.
Welbeck has been sidelined for more than three months with a hamstring problem, but he will be in the squad for Watford’s home clash with Everton tomorrow.