PROFILE
By Stefan Coerts | Dutch Football Writer
 
If you would have asked a random football fan in England about Dries Mertens ahead of the international friendly between The Three Lions and Belgium back in June, there’s a significant chance that a look of bewilderment would have come your way.  

However, the PSV winger was the talk of the town after England’s narrow 1-0 win over the Belgians.  

It was not for his footballing qualities, though, but for single-handedly ending Gary Cahill’s dreams of shining at Euro 2012 by pushing the Chelsea man into shot stopper Joe Hart, eventually forcing him to pull out of the squad for the European Championship. 

That foul was by no means typical of Mertens, though, as he’s a player who’s renowned for being a skillful dribbler rather than a tough tackler.

One of the stars of the Eredivisie, the 25-year-old’s rise to prominence in Netherlands has not gone unnoticed abroad either, and Goal.com exclusively revealed that Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is keen to lure the attacker to Anfield come January. 

A potential move to the Premier League would be yet another step forward for Mertens, who has steadily developed into one of the most efficient attackers around in Europe in the past few years after a difficult start to his career in his native country. 

Mertens was regarded as one of the most promising youngsters around at the Anderlecht youth academy after joining the Brussels giants at the age of 11, yet he was deemed surplus to requirements five years later as Paars-Wit had doubts about his physical presence.

He encountered the exact same problem at Gent, and left Belgium for the Dutch second tier disillusioned after failing to break into the first team at the Buffalo’s, as AGOVV were ready to give the tricky winger the chance to prove his worth.
 
And prove it he did. Mertens netted an impressive 30 goals in 108 Eerstedivisie appearances for AGOVV in his free role from the left, and earned himself a move to the Eredivisie, a league known for its pedigree to develop young players.

Mertens did not waste any time to make an impact at Utrecht, and immediately became a key figure at the Domstedelingen. Featuring alongside stars such as Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Michel Vorm, he guided them to qualification for European football, and Liverpool fans got a first glimpse of him when both sides met for the Europa League in 2010-11.
 
After two impressive seasons with Utrecht, Mertens felt the time had come to move on, and he eventually signed for PSV in the summer of 2011 in a package-deal with Kevin Strootman worth €13 million.
 
Hardly 15 months later, Mertens now seems to be ready to make the stop to the absolute top, and his performances at PSV certainly seem to suggest he has what it takes to make it at the biggest stage.
 
An impressive 25 goals in 40 Eredivisie appearances, plus numerous assists, make him one of the highest scoring wingers around in the game, and his ability to decide a game with one moment of brilliance make him an interesting player for many top teams.

Mertens has occasionally been criticised for his tendency to go for his own glory rather than try and look for a team-mate in a better position, but there’s no denying that the Belgium international has the vision and passing abilities to carve up any defence with his intelligent through balls.

Additionally, his exquisite dribbles, direct style and unpredictability make him very difficult to defend as he’s equally comfortable cutting inside from the left as he is rounding his direct opponent on the outside, while Mertens offers a goal threat that not many wingers possess with his accurate long-range strikes.

Obviously, the attacker has his flaws as well. Mertens occasionally goes to the ground too easily in his attempts to win a spot-kick, while he can be reluctant to track back if his direct opponent charges forward.

Overall, he appears to be more than ready to move to a bigger club, though, and Liverpool could be just the right club for him. Not only have previous Eredivisie exports such as Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez fared very well at the Reds, but his style of play perfectly suits Rodgers’ philosophy, too.

After seven years in Netherlands, a new challenge awaits for Mertens, be than in January or at the end of the 2012-13 campaign.

Follow Stefan Coerts on 

ROMA WANTED RODGERS

Tottenham’s interest in Brendan Rodgers before he became Liverpool’s new manager in early June has been well documented.
 
But the Northern Irishman’s impressive spell at Swansea did not just capture the attention of Premier League big-hitters.
 
The Sweeper can reveal that Rodgers was also on the shortlist of Roma as they began the process of finding a successor to Luis Enrique at the end of last season.
 
That job eventually went to Zdenek Zeman but it demonstrates Rodgers’ appeal to Boston-based owners. Liverpool are owned by Fenway Sports Group, who have several shareholders at the helm of Roma, including former president Thomas DiBenedetto.

– Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent

FERGIE ENVIOUS OF SPURS’ DEMBELE SWOOP

Manchester United may have spent £49 million (€60m) on signings in the last transfer window – but Sir Alex Ferguson believes Tottenham got the deal of the summer.

Ferguson feels Mousa Dembele – who signed for Spurs for £15m (€18.5m) – will prove to be a bargain and has privately hailed the move as fantastic business for the north London club.

Dembele starred in Spurs’ 3-2 victory at Old Trafford last Sunday and Ferguson’s admiration of the 25-year-old raises questions over why United did not pursue their interest in him when he was at Fulham.

United were long considered front-runners for Dembele’s signature but allowed Tottenham to swoop during the final week of the transfer window.

– Greg Stobart | Correspondent

MAN UTD WANT TO HIT THE BIG SCREEN

For a stadium of its size and reputation, many first-time visitors are surprised to discover that Old Trafford does not have big screens replaying the match action and highlights.

That is largely down to the way the stadium has evolved, with stands being rebuilt and the capacity increased gradually to its current 75,765 capacity.

The Sweeper has learned that United are undergoing studies to find out whether it would be feasible to add two giant screens at Old Trafford – probably to the stands behind each goal – to enhance supporters’ matchday experience.

– Greg Stobart | Correspondent

By Chris Davie

We’re well over a month into the Premier League season and strikers across the top flight are already emerging as candidates to secure the Golden Boot at the end of the campaign.

Newcastle United striker Demba Ba currently heads the Premier League’s scorers charts with six goals this season, closely followed by Robin van Persie, Luis Suarez and Steven Fletcher who have all struck five times this term.

Here’s Goal.com’s rundown of the players who have a shot of scooping the Golden Boot this season.

Robin van Persie has enjoyed a positive start in front of goal for Manchester United following his arrival from Arsenal in the summer. The Dutchman, who topped the scorers chart in the Premier League last season with 30 goals, currently has five strikes to his name this term. A goal on his home debut was followed up with a match-winning hat-trick at Southampton, while the 29-year-old also netted the winner from the penalty spot against Liverpool last month.

Wayne Rooney finished just three behind Van Persie’s tally last season but the England international has yet to open his account in the Premier League this season after a gashed leg kept him out of three of Manchester United’s fixtures last month.

Sergio Aguero is another player whose opening to the season has been hampered by injury. Aguero netted 23 goals in his debut campaign as Manchester City went on to win the Premier League title last season, but the Argentine has not yet hit the back of the net in the Premier League this term after sustaining a knee injury in City’s opening fixture against Southampton which subsequently saw him miss three games.

Nikica Jelavic ended up as Everton’s top scorer in the Premier League last term after netting nine goals in 13 appearances following his arrival from Rangers in January. The Croatian has begun this season in a similar fashion after scoring three in five league games.

PREMIER LEAGUE TOP SCORERS
Player Ba Fletcher Suarez Van Persie Crouch Defoe Lambert Michu	Club Newcastle Sunderland Liverpool Man Utd Stoke Tottenham Southampton Swansea	Goals 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 4	Odds 14/1 20/1 8/1 3/1 50/1 16/1 33/1 40/1

Demba Ba’s return in front of goal was mixed last season after the striker scored 15 goals for Newcastle before heading to the African Nations with Senegal in January. After returning from international duty, Ba linked up with Papiss Cisse for the remainder of Newcastle’s campaign following his compatriot’s arrival from Freiburg, but he struggled to replicate his early season form and added just one more to his tally before the end of the term.

This campaign, however, has seen Ba fly out of the traps and the 27-year-old currently tops the Premier League’s scoring charts with six goals. Cisse, meanwhile, who netted 13 in 14 appearances last term, has yet to score in six games.

There was a time when Fernando Torres would have been considered a favourite to win the Premier League’s golden boot but the Spaniard has struggled to match the form he displayed in his early career since his £50 million move from Liverpool. As a result, Torres’ first full season at Chelsea produced just six goals in 32 league appearances.

This season has widened the opportunities for Torres following Didier Drogba’s departure to Shanghai Shenhua, and the 28-year-old has scored three goals in six league appearances, one of which was against Arsenal at the Emirates last Saturday.

Another striker who struggled to live up to expectations in front of goal last season was Luis Suarez after the Uruguayan netted 11 goals in 31 league appearances. A shortage of forwards this term has resulted in Brendan Rodgers playing Suarez in a more advanced role and the forward has struck once against Manchester City and Sunderland before boosting his tally to five with a hat-trick at Norwich City last weekend.

Steven Fletcher scored 12 goals in 32 appearances as Wolves suffered relegation last season but the Scot sealed a move to Sunderland in the summer. This term, Fletcher has struck five times in four games and looks set to be Martin O’Neill’s first-choice striker at the Stadium of Light.

Southampton have secured just one win this season and lost their other five games but Rickie Lambert has enjoyed a strong start to the campaign after scoring four goals in six appearances.

Dimitar Berbatov ended as the Premier League’s top scorer two seasons ago with Manchester United, but after being frozen out at Old Trafford last term, the Bulgarian secured a move to Fulham in the summer transfer window. Berbatov has started life at his new club brightly after finding the back of the net twice in three appearances but is currently sidelined with a hip injury.

Berbatov’s team-mate at Fulham, Mladen Petric, has also enjoyed a strong start following his arrival from Hamburg, netting three times in four Premier League games.

After selling their top scorer in the summer, Arsenal have yet to unearth their replacement for Van Persie. The Dutchman’s departure has allowed Arsene Wenger to rotate his front line which has seen Gervinho score three times in the league this season, while Lukas Podolski has netted twice.

Peter Crouch ended up as Stoke City’s top scorer in the Premier League last season with ten goals and the 31-year-old looks to be on course to beat that record after scoring four in six this term.

Crouch’s former team-mate, Jermain Defoe, has started as Tottenham’s first-choice striker this season and the England international has repaid Andre Villas-Boas’ faith by netting four goals in six games. Emmanuel Adebayor, meanwhile, scored 17 league goals last season but has seen his opening to the campaign restricted to just two substitute appearances due to a hamstring injury.

Michu netted an impressive 15 goals in La Liga from an attacking-midfield position for Rayo Vallecano last season – making him the top-scoring midfielder in Spain – and he looks set to match that tally with Swansea City this season after scoring four goals from six matches.

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