Experienced player wanted by Spurs insists he is staying put at club 

Dries Mertens, who is rumoured to be on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar, has insisted that he is staying put at Napoli beyond this summer’s transfer window.

Mertens has been a fantastic servant for Napoli, having scored 135 goals in 360 appearances during his eight seasons at the club, replacing the legendary Diego Maradona as the top scorer in the club’s history.

Despite now being 34, the Belgian international is showing no signs of slowing down, scoring 10 goals and registering 9 assists in all competitions last season.

Voetbal 24 claimed back in April that Napoli were ready to cash in on Mertens this summer as they were keen to get the forward’s salary off their wage bill.

The report claimed that Tottenham were eyeing a move for the former PSV Eindhoven man but could face competition from their London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.

However, Mertens has now poured cold water on the speculation over his future, insisting that he plans to stay put at Naples. 

He told Football Italia: “I don’t think I will leave Napoli, no. 

“The problem is that I’m not supposed to talk about Napoli here, but in any case, I will not be leaving.

“There is absolutely no reason for me to leave. So I deny any reports of my future away from Napoli.”

Spurs Web Opinion 

We could well look towards the Italian market for our summer acquisitions now that we have Paratici on board. However, the new Spurs managing director of football will likely be tasked with building towards the future. So, I would be surprised if the club went in for Mertens as I expect them to prioritise shopping for young talent over the next couple of windows.

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