Chelsea were increasingly confident last night that they had persuaded Edin Dzeko to join the club from Roma in a combined deal with Emerson Palmieri worth an initial £44 million.
Antonio Conte, the Chelsea head coach, is thought to have spoken to Dzeko, who was having talks with Silvano Martina, one of his agents, last night in Milan, where Roma are staying before they play Sampdoria tomorrow.
The former Manchester City striker, 31, has scored 12 times in all competitions for Roma this season, but only two since the middle of October when he struck twice in a 3-3 draw in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge.
Conte wants to sign a target man before the transfer deadline at the end of this month and Chelsea have made inquiries about a string of players within the past week, including West Ham United’s Andy Carroll, Fernando Llorente, of Tottenham, Stoke City’s Peter Crouch and Burnley’s Ashley Barnes. West Ham have refused to sell Marko Arnautovic, who has also been mentioned.
Dzeko’s greatest concern about joining Chelsea was a potential lack of playing time, but his representative, Irfan Redzepagic, is expected to have talks with Chelsea in London today. Dzeko has been offered a contract of about £120,000 a week, an increase from the £76,000 he earns at Roma. He joined them for £10 million from City in 2016, but the Serie A club need to sell players to raise £36.7 million to comply with financial fair play rules.
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Chelsea’s proposed deal for the two players includes £8.8 million in bonuses. Emerson has played little first-team football this season as he recovers from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but he made his comeback as a substitute against Spal last month.
The 23-year-old would be cover for Marcos Alonso at left wing back, and his arrival would allow Kenedy to complete a loan move to Newcastle United. Chelsea wanted to renew their interest in Alex Sandro this month but Juventus have refused to budge on their £60 million valuation.
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