Inter contacted the entourage of Roma’s striker Edin Dzeko in the last few days to let him know that they still consider him an ideal alternative to Romelu Lukaku, local newspaper Il Messaggero reported today. The Nerazzurri already chased after him in the last two transfer market windows.
CEO Beppe Marotta and director Dario Baccin had a call with Silvano Martina, the Italian representative of the Bosnian forward, and informed that they are willing to match the same wages he has with the Giallorossi, but they need to get rid of Christian Eriksen first. However, Dzeko is about to switch agent, the outlet added.
Roma are unwilling to sell in January given that they do not have a readymade solution to replace him. For the future, they are still eyeing Arkadiusz Milik, who however is now closer to Atletico Madrid, on top of Dusan Vlahovic and Gianluca Scamacca.
Our view
Dzeko would surely be a high-end option to back up Lukaku and, after a fairly slow start, he has picked it up with three goals in December. Despite his cumbersome salary, he plays a massive role at Roma, which would have major difficulties to substitute him in January, especially because his eventual sale would not bring in much cash. While there is no denying that Inter and Antonio Conte have long appreciated the veteran attacker, it seems unlikely that will be able to strike a deal in the short term.