By Betsefy
Napoli forward Dries Mertens has insisted that he does not want to leave the club at the end of the season.
The 34-year-old is currently due to become a free agent in just over six months’ time and has been linked with moves to the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Napoli do have the option to extend Mertens’s stay until the summer of 2023, and the Belgium international ‘hopes’ to see that clause exercised.
Speaking to Sky Italia, Mertens said: “I like to play here and hopefully, then if you don’t, I’ll give the hand and I will thank you for all the years that I have played in Naples. I am honoured to be here and in any case sooner or later everything will have to end, hopefully as late as possible.
“Then the team is doing well, so many good players have arrived and sooner or later I will have to leave the place. There is a renewal clause in favour of Napoli, I hope it will be exercised, then let’s see.”
Mertens found the back of the net for the fourth Serie A game in a row during Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Atalanta BC and boasts a total of 141 goals and 87 assists in 373 games for Napoli since arriving from PSV in 2013.
