Arsenal will face fresh competition from Spain as Atletico Madrid enter the race to sign Dries Mertens from Napoli.
According to AS, as reported by the Daily Mail, the La Liga giants are the latest team to express an interest in the Belgian, with the likes of Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund also keen.
Diego Simeone is eager to strengthen his attacking options in the new year, with Edinson Cavani and Paco Alcacer among his alternative targets.
Mertens isn’t short of interest as a result of a very specific clause in his contract that allows clubs outside of Italy to sign him for just £8.25m during the first 10 days of the winter market.
Read Arsenal verdict
Mertens will turn 33 in May and at that age, many fans might be quick to turn a player away.
However, as a result of the clause that has been inserted into his Napoli contract, he suddenly becomes a very interest prospect for a lot of teams.
It can famously be quite difficult for teams to find good value during the January market, but you’d struggle to find a more experienced and accomplished attacker for less than £10 million in the coming weeks.
In recent years Arsenal have been working with smaller budgets and while he may no longer be at the peak of his powers, Mertens is a versatile attacker that could offer Arteta an interesting option in attack as they prepare for the potential departures of either Alexandre Lacazette or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
