The agent of former Napoli star Dries Mertens has revealed that while talks were held with Juventus, the Belgian didn’t want to join the Bianconeri.
Mertens’ contract with Napoli ran out at the end of the previous season and he has now joined Galatasaray, who signed him on a free transfer. There was talk of Juventus’ interest in the player and his agent – Stijn Francis, has confirmed that talks were indeed held.
He told the MidMid podcast (via CM1926): “The transfer to Galatasaray was a long process. We realized too late that the story between Dries and Napoli was ending. There was a naive belief that we could stay, also because we never pressured otherwise.Â
“In May -June, there was stuff to be decided, but the renewal did not materialise. We weren’t asking for much. If you compare it with Juventus’ offer, what we asked from Napoli is very little. There was no negotiation, it was a question of taking or leaving it. There was a concrete and interesting conversation with Juve, for us and for Dries . But his heart told him he couldn’t do it.”
It was reported in the summer that Juve had made an approach for Mertens, as they were looking for a versatile forward following the exit of Alvaro Morata. They have ended up signing Arek Milik, who has already put himself on the scoresheet multiple times for the Old Lady.
Juve had offered a two-year deal for the Belgium star but there were doubts about whether the forward really wanted to join the Bianconeri.
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