With the current contracts for Pedro and Willian set to expire this summer, Frank Lampard has quite a bit of thinking to do as to how the Chelsea attack would line up next season.
Lampard’s youthful squad is in dire need of some experience in the eleven.
After sealing the deal for Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech, Chelsea are bound to look for more players in the transfer market to strengthen their squad.
A recurring name on the transfer list for the Blues has been Napoli’s veteran striker Dries Mertens.
On paper, the Belgian international seems to the ideal man upfront for Lampard.
The 33-year-old has had productive spells on the pitch in the now-suspended 2019-20 campaign, scoring 12 goals and adding six assists in 29 total appearances for the Partenopei.
Lampard drops hint with activity on social media
The Blues have been tracking the Belgian for a long time now, with reported inquiries dating back to the January transfer window.
Now, Lampard’s recent social media activity has fans optimistic over a possible agreement with the player.
The Chelsea boss, who is not known to extend his Instagram following much beyond his players, started following and even liked one of the posts on Merten’s official Insta handle.
Lampard just followed Dries Mertens on IG.
— #Covid-Daily 🦠 (@EmenaIo) May 9, 2020
Done deal. pic.twitter.com/JAHyCr2K7M
So Lampard started recently following #Mertens on instagram, and he even liked one of his posts 👀
— Ahmed Samir (@_AhmedSamir) May 1, 2020
in the same time many reports saying that Lampard kept in touch with him since January to make sure he sign with #cfc this summer. pic.twitter.com/WB7VPJr9ON
While it may be a bit of a stretch, there is no denying the fact that Frank Lampard and Chelsea have been actively working on bringing Mertens to Stamford Bridge.
With Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis issuing an ultimatum to the Belgian recently, a move away from Stadio San Paolo seems just a matter of time.