Mertens agrees new two-year Napoli contract, ending Chelsea and Inter links

Dries Mertens has signed a new contract with Napoli to tie him to the club until 2022 and end transfer speculation.

The Belgium international was seemingly set to depart Stadio San Paolo with his previous deal set to expire at the end of the season.

His contractual situation led to reports of apparent discussions with Chelsea and Inter, the latter of whom were said to be offering a significantly better wage than the package put together by Napoli.

But the 33-year-old is claimed to have reached an agreement to remain at Napoli in May, with the club making the official announcement just four days after Mertens overtook Marek Hamsik as their all-time leading goalscorer.

A Napoli statement read: "Napoli is pleased to announce that it has agreed terms with Dries Mertens over a new contract with the club.

ONE OF US! @dries_mertens14 https://t.co/uO0pOMuWg1 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/wTf9AD9bow

— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) June 17, 2020

"Mertens has signed for a further two years with the option to extend for a third."

Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis added on his official Twitter account: "Pleased to be together for a long time to come – long live Dries!"

Mertens moved to Napoli in 2013 after an eye-catching two-year spell with PSV and has since scored 122 goals in all competitions, including 90 in Serie A.

His most prolific single league campaign was with Napoli in 2016-17, when the forward netted 28 times in Serie A.

122 - Dries Mertens is now the best goalscorer with Napoli in all competitions, overtaking Marek Hamsik (121) and reaching 122 goals for the Azzurri. Top. #NapoliInter #CoppaItalia pic.twitter.com/rXrEV8dpH9

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) June 13, 2020