#Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is hoping to end his hunt for an old-fashioned number 9 after the Blues have made a £50m bid for Roma forward Edin Dzeko. The deal would not just see the former Manchester City player move to Stamford Bridge but see left-back Emerson Palmieri make the move to West London in a double deal. Conte has been on the lookout since the turn of the year for a backup striker for the below-par Alvaro Morata and has been linked with the likes of Andy Carroll, Ashley Barnes and Peter Crouch but he has seemingly set his sights on the experienced forward.
After failing to secure a deal for Juventus left-back Alex Sandro in the summer Conte has moved quickly to seal the services of the Brazilian Palmieri, with the 23-year-old being bought in with the hope of challenging regular left wing-back Marcos Alonso, who has impressed since joining from Fiorentina last summer. Negotiations between the club and Palmieri are seemingly over with the contract finalised and the former Santos youngster set to move to the Bridge after only featuring twice this term for the Serie A side.
Dangerous Dzeko
Last season's Premier League champions are no strangers to Dzeko, with the Bosnian scoring twice in an enthralling 3-3 draw in the Champions League this campaign.
Since his arrival in the Italian capital three years ago the 31-year-old has been Roma's main source of goals scoring 61 in 116 games and also has 52 in 89 caps for his country.
It would be the 31-year-olds second spell in England, following a glittering five-year spell for Manchester City, winning the Premier League twice as well as the FA and League Cup, scoring important goals along the way in the FA Cup final and the dramatic equaliser in the game that won City their first ever Premier League title.
During his time in England, he scored 50 goals in 130 games but struggled for regular first-team action under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini. He was mostly used as a squad rotation player behind the likes of Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli prompting him to leave for Serie A. His representatives flew to London this Monday to discuss a potential deal, but it is said that the Bosnian has reservations about joining the Blues.
With the big money signing of Morata in the summer, there are doubts over whether Dzeko will be guaranteed game time, especially with Michy Batshuayi set to stay at the club this window as well. Chelsea has confirmed, however, they have offered Dzeko assurances over his playing time and are confident the deal will be completed.
