London, May 13: English Premier League (EPL) rivals Chelsea and Manchester United are ready to battle it out to sign Napoli attacker Dries Mertens in the upcoming Summer.

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The little Belgian has currently stalled new contract talks with Napoli and both the teams are now eager to take the advantage of the situation.

Mertens has been in tremendous form this season for Maurizio Sarri's side. The 30-year-old has scored 30 goals and provided 13 assists in 43 appearances in all competitions for Napoli and currently helped them achieving a third spot in the league.

Italian Antonio Conte is said to be a big fan of the former PSV man and would like to sign him to strengthen his squad for the upcoming season.

And with Diego Costa's future at Stamford Bridge muddled in uncertainty, Mertens could become a perfect signing.

Manchester United, on the other hand, are also said to be monitoring the situation of the 30-year-old.

The Red Devils currently have only one proper forward, 19-year-old Marcos Rashford at their disposal and a serious long-term injury to Zlatan Ibrahimovic means United are likely to bid farewell to him at the end of the campaign.

In such a situation, the Napoli forward could become an ideal option for the Reds as the attacker can play in all the attacking third in the field, including a striker.

Mertens has only one year left on his contract and remained coy when he was asked about his contract situation.

However the club president Aurelio De Laurentiis is confident that the club's star player will be there for the upcoming season and will soon sign a new contract.

Aurelio De Laurentiis said: “I believe we are there and therefore the signature should arrive soon. We can say that in a week we will confirm everything we said."

The new contract will reportedly see him earn between £3-3.5m a year and will keep him in Italy until 2021.

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