Dries Mertens never stopped believing that he would have a “great career” even when finding himself in the Dutch second tier at AGOVV, say former team-mates Julius Willie and Koen Garritsen.
The Belgium international, at the age of 33, has spent the last 11 years proving his worth at the very highest level.
A consistent stream of goals has been provided across spells in the Eredivisie and Serie A with Utrecht, PSV and Napoli.
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It is in Italy, having secured a move away from Eindhoven in 2013, where Mertens has seen his stock soar, with the target found on 121 occasions while in Naples.