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Dries Mertens to Chelsea update as Frank Lampard battles to secure late Napoli transfer
Chelsea were keen on signing the Belgium international.
Chelsea’s pursuit of Dries Mertens is over, it has been claimed. The Blues turned their attention to signing the Belgium international earlier this week to alleviate the seemingly imminent departure of Olivier Giroud.
Chelsea entered talks with Napoli on Thursday, with reports suggesting negotiations with the Serie A outfit were going well.
That, however, no longer seems to be the case.
According to Bleacher Report, Mertens won’t be swapping the Stadio San Paolo for Stamford Bridge this month.
They claim a deal to see the Belgian to join the Premier League giants is ‘not going to happen’ and that the transfer was always going to be a ‘difficult’ one.
Chelsea's pursuit of Dries Mertens has ended
Chelsea’s failed pursuit of Mertens almost certainly ends Giroud’s hopes of leading Stamford Bridge this month.
The France international is keen to leave the west Londoners to secure regular first-team football after falling behind Tammy Abraham and Michy Batshuayi in the pecking order.
Chelsea were willing to let the former Arsenal man leave the Bridge this month, but only if they could bring in a suitable replacement.
And with talks for Mertens failing to bear fruit, it’s unlikely the 33-year-old will be allowed to leave the club.
That will scupper the plans of Lazio and Tottenham, both of whom were keen to acquire the World Cup winner’s services.
It’s claimed the latter reached an agreement to sign the forward with Chelsea, though the deal was dependent on the Blues landing Mertens.
It’s unclear what the future holds for Giroud now he seems set to stay at Chelsea.
Giroud is out of contract in the summer and it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where Chelsea manager Frank Lampard lets him leave the club on a free transfer.
Chelsea will be back in action on Saturday afternoon, travelling to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City.
Lampard’s troops - who currently occupy fourth place in the Premier League - trail the high-flying Foxes by six points.
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