Chelsea have made an offer to sign Belgium forward

Chelsea have reportedly made an offer to Napoli star Dries Mertens whose contract expires at the end of the current campaign.

Mertens was tipped to join the Blues in January but his decision to remain in Naples meant that Olivier Giroud was denied a move to Inter Milan.

The Belgian has since been linked with the club on numerous occasions and RAI journalist Paolo Paganini has confirmed that the Blues are aiming to sign him on a pre-contact.

"Mertens leaving? If he went away, Napoli could place a double shot (sign two players, instead of the one attacker). Inter and Chelsea have relaunched on [their attempts to sign] the Belgian, offering him a higher salary," he said.

Mertens is likely to demand at least a two-year contract on the table and in addition to this, he may also want a significant signing-on fee to join the west London side.

Frank Lampard has generally preferred to work with the younger players but he is said to be eyeing some experienced players this summer with the possibility of Giroud, Willian and Pedro leaving on free transfers.