Manchester United Reportedly Interested in Dries Mertens

Manchester United are following Napoli's star forward Dries Mertens "very closely," according to the Serie A club's former director, Pierpaolo Marino. 

Marino noted Mertens' €28 million (£25 million) release clause is very low and confirmed that United are interested in the in-form forward, per Tuttosport (h/t Calciomercato via Lucas Sposito of Sport Witness): "The €28 million clause is likely to be a low price even if he is 30. It turns out that United are following him very closely."

Mertens has been in a stunning vein of goalscoring form since the start of the 2016-17 season, when he switched from playing on the flanks to a No. 9 role after the departure of Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus.

Last term he netted 28 goals and provided nine assists in 35 Serie A appearances, per WhoScored.com.

And he is unmatched creatively in the Italian top flight since the start of the year, per Squawka:

It is little surprise that Mertens is being linked with a club of United's stature.

However, it is somewhat unclear as to why the Red Devils would be targeting another central striker.

Romelu Lukaku has been immense since sealing his £75 million move to Old Trafford from Everton in the summer and Marcus Rashford is also more than capable of operating in the No. 9 role.

Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic should return to action in the new year following his recovery from injury, per Sky Sports' Lyall Thomas.

There is no guarantee that Mertens would earn an immediate first-team spot under manager Jose Mourinho at United should he move to Old Trafford.