Napoli forward Dries Mertens has refused to rule out a future move to China.
The 31-year-old, who is enjoying a fifth season with the Neapolitans, sees his present contract expire in June 2020.
In the past Mertens has been heavily linked with a move away, most notably to the Far East, but he’s stayed put. However, things could soon change.
“You never know,” he told the South China Morning Post.
“In one year I finish my contract in Naples so maybe then. Why did I reject a move before? I just preferred to stay in Europe for my development. I was still on the bench at the beginning in Naples, then I started to play and I wanted to enjoy my moments.
“I worked so hard to get into the team and I didn’t want to leave – that would have been too easy. I spoke a lot with [Axel] Witsel and [Yannick] Carrasco and they are actually quite positive about the football there.
“I spoke to Carrasco [recently] and he said he’s getting used to it and his team is getting more points. At the beginning he said he didn’t know how to find his place in the team, but now he’s feeling better. With Axel, even though he’s moved away, he said he still enjoyed his time.”
Lowdown on Mertens
Mertens, who has amassed 79 internationals caps, recently became the most prolific Belgian goalscorer in foreign competitions.
Mertens to date has played in the Eredivisie for FC Utrecht and PSV Eindhoven, and Serie A with Napoli amassing 129 goals across 312 matches.
His tally surpasses Raymond Braine who bagged 128 goals in 106 league matches whilst representing Czech outfit Sparta Prague.
Since joining Napoli, and under former manager Maurizio Sarri, he’s gone from being a winger into a false nine, enabling him to achieve his best campaign in front of goal in 2016/17: 34 goals in 46 games.
During that season Mertens became the first player since 1974 to register back-to-back Serie A hat-tricks.
The post Serie A’s record-breaking Belgian Dries Mertens refuses to rule out China move appeared first on Squawka News.
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