Atletico Madrid turn attentions to Serie A goal machine

Atletico Madrid have earmarked Napoli striker Dries Mertens as their top transfer target if they fail to keep hold of Antoine Griezmann, reports AS.

Manchester United are widely expected to renew their pursuit of Griezmann at the end of the season but Atletico will be hopeful of fending off their interest for the second summer in a row.

However, Griezmann’s €100m (£88.4m) release clause could leave Atletico powerless and Diego Simeone’s side are already putting plans in place for his potential departure.

Mertens has established himself as one of the best goalscorers in Europe since the start of last season and reportedly has a €28m (£24.8m) release clause in his current deal, which will be active for foreign sides in the summer.

The 30-year-old struggled to nail down a starting role during his first three seasons at Napoli but is now one of the first names on the team sheet under Maurizio Sarri.

In fact, Mertens only netted 22 times in his first 97 matches for Napoli in Serie A, compared to 38 goals in 47 appearances since the start of last season.