Chelsea move closer to completing deals for Edin Dzeko and Emerson Palmieri

Chelsea have moved closer to signing Roma duo Edin Dzeko and Emerson Palmieri as they look to make a splash in the transfer market in January. Manager Antonio Conte is a huge fan and believes adding both players to their roster will help them make bigger strides in the league and other competitions where they have struggled to cope off late.

Sky Italia, as corresponded by Sky Sports, reports that Chelsea are willing to make an offer worth €50m (£44m) and €10m (£9m) in bonuses to complete a deal for the duo and are also open to including Michy Batshuayi in the mix on loan the other way to sweeten the transfer for the Italian club.

The report states that Dzeko is only interested in a move to Chelsea should a transfer be on the cards, with his agent recently stating that he is happy in Roma and is not considering a move away at the moment.

The Blues were primarily interested in signing Andy Carroll from West Ham but the move fell through after news of the striker suffering an ankle injury, which will keep him out of action for over a month. The news forced Conte to move on to other targets with Peter Crouch also emerging as a surprise target amidst the transfer hoopla.

Dzeko, 31, has scored 12 goals for Roma this season, including a double against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League in their 3-3 draw in October. Should the move happen, he will not be able to feature for the Blues in Europe as he will be cup-tied. His agent refused to comment on the dynamics of the market or provide details on a possible move, but confirmed that Conte has a liking for the striker.

"No, I don't know anything about this. I've no information to that effect," he told romagiallorossa.it, as quoted by Goal, when asked about the reported interest. "Dzeko is a Roma player. You know that well.

"Every time you talk about Dzeko, clubs like Chelsea, Chinese clubs, even Mexican clubs crop up. They're only rumours. The truth is that Dzeko wants to stay at Roma. My role is not to reveal certain dynamics of the market. All I can say is that Conte likes Dzeko. But who doesn't like Edin?"

Apart from Dzeko, Chelsea are also interested in Palmieri to provide more competition to Marcos Alonso at left wing-back. They were initially interested in Juventus' Alex Sandro but the Serie A champions' hefty demands have seen them switch their attention to 23-year-old, who has shown promise this season.

The Brazilian-born player joined Roma from Santos in 2015, but has only played 15 minutes of Serie A football this season. His agent has confirmed that it would be a dream for the defender to play under Conte but nothing has been decided thus far on that front.