Chelsea linked with 22-goal marksman if touted managerial change is made

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Chelsea struggled to score consistently in the Premier League last season, and so bolstering their attacking options would seem like a sensible decision this summer.

Having bagged just 62 goals in 38 league games, the lowest tally of the top six sides and to put that into further context, champions Man City scored 106 goals, it is an area that the Blues must improve in.

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While they ended with the FA Cup trophy, it was a disappointing season overall as they failed to qualify for the Champions League, and so it remains to be seen what changes are made to ensure that they compete again next season onwards.

According to The Telegraph, should Maurizio Sarri arrive to replace Antonio Conte as expected, he will eye a move for Napoli forward Dries Mertens to join him at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian tactician knows Mertens well of course having worked with him in Naples for the past two seasons, with the Belgian international bagging 22 goals and 12 assists in 49 appearances last season as he impressed again.

However, after Napoli fell short in their bid to topple Juventus at the top of the Serie A tree, Sarri was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti, as per Sky Sports, and so it remains to be seen whether or not that leads to further changes with the squad.

Mertens showed his class with the sensational strike below in Belgium’s opening game of the World Cup against Panama on Monday, as he delivered a reminder of what he can produce.

Whether or not he’ll be delivering those kind of moments of magic at Chelsea next season remains to be seen, but given it seems the appointment of Sarri must occur first, it would appear to be a long way off coming to fruition for now.

A diminutive forward who has successfully made the transition from winger to frontman, he will certainly offer a different dynamic compared to the likes of Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud if he does join Chelsea, while he could in fact play off them and flourish too, as he does with Romelu Lukaku for Belgium.

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