WILSHERE TO LEAVE ARSENAL

MAURIZIO SARRI is keen to make Belgium World Cup goalscorer Dries Mertens his first Chelsea signing. Sarri is closing in on the manager’s job and already targeting a raid on his former club Napoli to bring Mertens (below) to London. Chelsea previously baulked at paying Napoli’s £24.5million release clause for Mertens, 31, and now that clause has expired he could cost even more. Sarri, who has been replaced at Napoli by Carlo Ancelotti, has told pals that he regards Mertens as a perfect signing to line up on the right of a front three – the role he plays for Belgium. Mertens was deemed too LEICESTER are set to insist on a straight cash deal with Manchester City for Riyad Mahrez after snapping up James Maddison.

Manchester City starlet Patrick Roberts, 21, was being mooted as a possible makeweight in the Mahrez (above) deal. But those plans are set to be ditched after Leicester agreed a £22million move, rising to WEST HAM have broken their transfer record to land highly rated defender Issa Diop.

The Hammers beat a string of clubs to sign the Toulouse centre-back in a deal understood to be old before by Chelsea but he scored 22 goals last term and the club are also eyeing Manchester United’s Anthony Martial, Borussia Dortmund’s 19-year-old Christian Pulisic and Nice midfielder Jean Seri.

It now seems just a matter of time until Sarri gets the nod at Stamford Bridge after a long-running saga. And he intends to bring in Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola as his No.2. £25m for Norwich midfielder Maddison, 21.

They are splashing out in expectation of Mahrez completing a big-money move to City, who originally wanted him in January.

Champions’ chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said last month: “We’d made our decisions from January in terms of what this squad needs this summer.” worth £25million. Diop, 21, (below) is new boss Manuel Pellegrini’s second signing after Ryan Fredericks. He also hopes to sign Swansea defender Alfie Mawson and keeper Lukasz Fabianski.