Chelsea hold talks over double deal for Roma's Edin Dzeko and Emerson Palmieri
Matt Law, football news correspondent
19 JANUARY 2018 • 5:13PM
Chelsea will hold more talks with Roma over a potential double deal for Emerson Palmieri and Edin Dzeko next week.
Left-back Palmieri is hoping to complete a move to Stamford Bridge to compete with Marcos Alonso, despite the fact Chelsea would ideally like to take the Brazilian on loan.
Roma want £22 million for Palmieri, but there is optimism on all sides that a deal for either a loan or permanent transfer can be agreed.Chelsea’s interest in Dzeko is less advanced and has come about as the club attempt to find a target man to help out Alvaro Morata, who is suspended for Saturday’s trip to Brighton.
Morata’s suspension means Michy Batshuayi, who could move in the opposite direction to Dzeko, will start against Brighton. And Roma face Inter Milan on Sunday, which means discussions have been put on hold during the weekend.
The Premier League champions had been hopeful of signing Andy Carroll, but the West Ham United centre-forward's ankle injury has forced them to look elsewhere. There is an outside chance of Chelsea reigniting their interest if the 29-year-old can recover by the end of the month.
Dzeko would not be eligible to play in the Champions League, but he could play for Chelsea in the Premier League and all of the cup competitions.Having made an inquiry over his potential availability, Chelsea will hold more talks over Dzeko next week, but they also continue to explore other options.
Crystal Palace have already warned Chelsea that they do not want to loan out Christian Benteke, although that may change if Roy Hodgson can sign a striker, while a move for Stoke City’s Peter Crouch has not been discounted.
Antonio Conte’s interest in Dzeko was confirmed by the former Manchester City forward’s agent, Irfan Redzepagic, who told Italian media: “All I can say is that Conte likes Dzeko. But then who doesn’t like Edin?
“Have I spoken to Conte or Chelsea? My role means I can’t reveal certain transfer market dynamics. I understand the question, but I have a very specific role.
“Look, every time we talk about Dzeko the names of clubs like Chelsea, Chinese clubs, Mexican clubs come up. These are just rumours. The truth is that Dzeko wants to stay at Roma.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/01/19/chelsea-hold-talks-double-deal-romas-edin-dzeko-emerson-palmieri/