Lampard 'makes direct contact with Mertens' as he makes new forward priority

Frank Lampard has reportedly held discussions with Napoli's Dries Mertens as he looks to add depth to his attacking options.

The Chelsea manager was unable to bolster his attacking options in the January transfer window, and is again set to make this a priority in the summer.

Chelsea have already strengthened their attacking options with the signing of Hakim Ziyech from Ajax, and now Lampard reportedly has his eyes on netting Mertens on a free transfer.

According to Italian publication Gianluca Di Marzio, Lampard has made 'direct contact' with the Belgian, to identify whether he would be interested in a switch to the Premier League club.

Mertens, 32, has yet to make a decision on his future at Napoli which is set to expire i the summer.

The Italian club have had a tumultuous season, due to a civil war behind the scenes between players and owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.

After an inconsistent start to the season, the drama reached boiling point when the club's players refused to attend a training camp organised by the chairman following their draw to Salzburg, and instead chose to get in their cars and go home.

De Laurentiis has suggested in the past he does not want to keep Mertens on his currently salary and would only sign him to a new deal if it was at a vastly reduced rate.

Mertens was the subject of interest from Chelsea back in January, though the club failed to sign anyone after having their transfer ban reduced.

The forward is a legend in Naples, and is the club's joint-top all-time leading goalscorer after matching Marek Hamsik's 121 goal record this season.

Chelsea meanwhile are braced for a changing of the guard in the summer, with Willian, Pedro and Michy Batshauayi all reportedly set to leave Stamford Bridge.

Despite looking to be on his way also, Olivier Giroud is now expected to sign a new one-year deal, after impressing Lampard just before football was put on hold due to Covid-19.

Chelsea will be hoping to close the gap to Liverpool and Manchester City, with the gap to the league leaders standing at 34 points this season.