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Chelsea have been linked with a move for Napoli star Dries Mertens for many seasons now, and Gianluca Di Marzio on Wednesday claimed that Chelsea are ‘serious’ about signing Mertens this winter transfer window.

Mertens will be out of contract in the summer and is now free to negotiate with other clubs as he considers a move away from Naples.

With Frank Lampard keen on signing a new striker to support Tammy Abraham, the Blues have been linked with the 32-year-old forward.

A Jorginho fan account on Instagram shared a picture of Jorginho and Mertens during their time together at Napoli with the ‘eyes’ and ‘egg timer’ emojis, hinting at an imminent move, and the post was liked by Jorginho himself.

Napoli boss Gennaro Gattuso has however refused to be drawn into the speculation surrounding Mertens’ future.

When asked about the striker’s contract situation, he said: “I am not talking about contracts, I am already struggling to do my job.

“Nobody has knocked on my door, they know who they need to talk to but as I say, nobody has spoken to me.”