Dries Mertens: the possible consequences after the “big no” to Napoli

After the big no, the future now looks less hazy.

Dries Mertens has turned down the offer Napoli presented him to sign a new contract. And now it is fair to wonder what the future might be for the striker and the highest scorer in the history of the Neapolitan club.

Making it clear that the outlook is decidedly bleak was Cristiano Giuntoli himself, speaking from Napoli’s training camp in Dimaro. “Aurelio De Laurentiis has made him a major offer, of almost 5 million euros gross per season. A relative figure at 2.5 million net. But of course it was not accepted, despite the fact that the two of them have an extraordinary relationship. That’s the picture, and it’s very simple,” said the blue ds without mincing words.

Based on this development, now, the Mertens situation seems to present only two alternative possibilities. The first is that somehow the parties meet again and find an agreement not to separate, different from the one already presented by Napoli. More likely at this point, however, appears to be the second possibility, one that sees the player return to his homeland and start again with his Antwerp compatriots.