Dries Mertens warned Napoli “have a strong squad, but if we want to win something, we need to buy in order to raise the level. I’d like to stay for many more years.”

The Belgian spoke at a Q&A from their training retreat in Dimaro, alongside Lorenzo Insigne and Kostas Manolas.

He was asked about the on-going transfer saga around Real Madrid creative midfielder James Rodriguez.

Rafa Benitez is reunited with former Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik after being appointed the new Coach of Dalian Yifang.

Benitez only left Newcastle United on Sunday but has already found work in China with Dalian.

Reports in England claim the 59-year-old will earn a £12m (€13.4m) salary – double what he earned at Newcastle.

The Spaniard links back up with Hamsik, the pair having worked together at Napoli between 2013 and 2015, winning a Coppa Italia and Supercoppa.

Marek Hamsik’s representative laughed off reports of a return to Italy for Roma. “He is absolutely happy at Dalian Yifang.”

There were some improbable suggestions in La Repubblica newspaper this morning that Roma were ready to swap Javier Pastore with Hamsik.

That would mean swinging straight back to Serie A just six months after leaving Napoli and joining one of their bitter rivals.

Roma could make a move to bring Napoli hero Marek Hamsik back from China and exchange him with Javier Pastore, claim La Repubblica.

According to the newspaper, Giallorossi President James Pallotta is considering offering Pastore to Chinese Super League club Dalian Yifang in exchange for the former Napoli captain.

The paper also reports that the Chinese side would be willing to pay some of the Slovakian’s €9m a year salary, as he is reportedly fed up with life in China and wants a return to Italy.

Former Napoli captain Marek Hamsik has confessed that he is finding China and the language barrier difficult. “I can only use gestures.”

Hamsik only joined Dalian Yifang from Napoli in February but was dropped for Sunday’s 4-1 defeat to League leaders Beijing Guoan.

The 31-year-old has yet to score or assist in six appearances for the Chinese club, and he admits ‘I’ve not encountered a situation like this before.’

“I am not particularly satisfied with my performances,” AFP quotes him as telling CCTV.

Dries Mertens’ father has confirmed that the forward wants to not only stay at Napoli but also ‘surpass’ Marek Hamsik.

Mertens matched Diego Maradona’s goal tally of 81 for Napoli during their 2-0 win against Frosinone on Sunday, and Herman was ‘honoured’ to see his son make history for the Partenopei.

“In Naples the fans are unhappy about the season, but the big gap with Juventus was also a burden,” he told Radio CRC.

Marek Hamsik has admitted that he ‘misses everything’ at Napoli and could have stayed ‘if we’d been fighting for the Scudetto’.

Hamsik left Napoli for Dalian Yifang last month as their all-time top goalscorer and record appearance holder, but the midfielder’s time at the San Paolo coincided with Juventus’ domestic domination.

“At the end of the match against Sampdoria, I didn’t know how things would pan out,” their former captain told Il Mattino.

Former Napoli captain Marek Hamsik made his Dalian Yifang debut on Sunday but admitted ‘I have to get used’ to Chinese football.

Hamsik ended a 12-year association with Napoli to join Dalian last month, and he played the entirety of his new side’s 1-1 draw with Henan Jianye on the opening day of the new Chinese Super League season.

The result came despite Dalian going down to 10 men, although the midfielder failed to score a goal or register an assist.

Marek Hamsik will be watching Napoli-Juventus from China, even if it means getting up at 4am, and the former captain called Maurizio Sarri his favourite Coach.

The game kicks off on Sunday at 19.30 GMT, click here for a match preview.

“Hamsik is in Shanghai at the moment for tomorrow’s game (with new club Dalian Yifang), but he rarely sleeps the night after a match anyway,” member of his entourage Martin Petras told Radio CRC.