Roma striker Edin Dzeko has agreed terms with Chelsea and is expected to join the Blues in £44m double deal with Emerson.
Roma star striker Edin Dzeko has agreed terms with Chelsea and is expected to join the Blues this January according to reports in Italy.
Head coach Antonio Conte is desperate to bring in a back-up striker to compete with Alvaro Morata while current back-up Michy Batshuayi is likely to be leaving Chelsea on loan the other way to Roma as part of the deal.
Conte doesn’t fancy Batshuayi with his hold-up play and ball retention deemed not good enough to lead the Chelsea line when Morata isn’t available.
Dzeko, 31, is said to be keen on a move to Chelsea and will be a good target-man type striker who has good finishing and can hold up the ball.
He’s also a significant upgrade on the current strikers that have been linked to the Blues, including Andy Carroll and Peter Crouch.
The respected journalist Gianluca Di Marzio claims Dzeko has reached an agreement with Chelsea and has told Conte he will join.
Chelsea are also keen on signing Roma team-mate and full-back Emerson Palmieri and talks over a double deal for the both of them are due this week.
It’s understood Roma want £44m for the both of them.
Asked about the Dzeko links the forward’s agent Irfan Redzepagic said: ‘‘Have I spoken to Conte or Chelsea? My role means I can’t reveal certain transfer market dynamics…
“All I can say is that Conte likes Dzeko. But then who doesn’t like Edin?”
Dzeko scored 50 goals for Manchester City between 2011-2016. Last season, Dzeko won the Serie A golden boot after scoring 29 goals for Roma in the Serie A. This season he’s scored nine.
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