Dries Mertens has put the shoulder injury behind him and is working hard to re-claim a place in the line-up of Luciano Spalletti’s unbeaten Napoli.
The Belgian striker has one appearance of six minutes towards the end of the 2-1 win against Fiorentina, as Napoli sit first in Serie A with seven wins from seven games.
Serie A | Fiorentina 1-2 Napoli: Seven out of seven for Spalletti
Mertens underwent a shoulder surgery in July and has worked hard to recover and hopes to contribute for Napoli in the coming months.
The 34-year-old has entered the last year of his deal with the Partenopei worth €4m a season, and Calciomercato.com reports he has an option to automatically renew the deal for a further year at the Stadio Diego Maradona.
But the automatic renewal comes with conditions he needs to fulfil on the pitch and the veteran has worked hard during the international break.
He will be available for the match against Torino on Sunday and is an added value to an already high-flying Napoli.
His last goal, however, came against Lazio on April 22, but he has bagged 135 goals in nine seasons with the Azzurri.
Mertens and Napoli haven’t discussed what happens after 2021-22, but the former PSV Eindhoven player can force a place in the squad for 2022-23 by reaching certain objectives in the contract.