Chelsea will step up their pursuit of the Roma pair Edin Dzeko and Emerson Palmieri on Monday in the hope of persuading the Serie A club to sell the two players for a combined €50m (£44m).
Roma are holding out for £44m plus £13.2m in add-ons. Initial talks were held between the two clubs last week and will resume on Monday following the Italian side’s game with Inter on Sunday night.
Chelsea are reluctant to agree to a potential £57.2m outlay but are confident that a deal can be reached.
The Premier League champions made an inquiry for West Ham’s Andy Carroll earlier this month only for the striker to injure an ankle. Antonio Conte is an admirer of Dzeko, who scored twice against Chelsea this season as Roma drew 3-3 at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League, and is desperate to add to his strikeforce for the second half of the season.
Dzeko, who played for Manchester City between 2011 and 2016 before joining the Serie A side, won the Serie A Golden Boot last season and has nine goals in 19 games this campaign.
The 31-year-old Bosnian has indicated he is keen to join Conte’s side as has Palmieri, a Brazilian left-back who joined Roma in 2015, initially on loan. The Italian champions, Juventus, are also interested in signing the 23-year-old Palmieri.
Chelsea have offered Michy Batshuayi on loan as part of the deal but Roma are exploring other possibilities to replace Dzeko should he leave in this window.
Borussia Dortmund, however, view Batshuayi as a possible replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang if the Gabon international joins Arsenal.