Chelsea transfer news: Roma not interested in weakening squad amid Dzeko and Palmieri reports

Roma sporting director Monchi has reassured the club's fans that they have no interest in weakening their squad as Chelsea look to complete deals for Edin Dzeko and Emerson Palmieri.

The Blues have been linked with a number of players in recent weeks with Andy Carroll touted as a possible addition in attack. However, with the Englishman requiring surgery for an ankle injury, Chelsea were forced to look elsewhere.

Dzeko has since emerged as an alternative while the Bosnian striker's teammate and left-back Palmieri is also a target for manager Antonio Conte as he seeks to provide competition for Marcos Alonso.

Recent reports from Sky Italia claimed that Chelsea were willing to make an offer worth €50m (£44m) and €10m (£9m) in bonuses to complete a deal for the duo.

The same report adds that Chelsea are the only club that Dzeko would leave Roma for while Palmieri is keen on working with Conte. The reigning Premier League champions are also open to letting Michy Batshuayi join Roma on loan to help sweeten the deal.

However, Monchi stated in a press conference on Saturday (20 January) that the Serie A club are only interested in bringing in players rather than letting them leave.

"It's been too often now that newspapers have spoken about Roma as a club that is looking to change everything," Monchi told reporters via FourFourTwo. "I even read that we're allegedly selling players without their knowledge. This could not be further from the truth.

"That we have numerous quality players, that will always attract the interest of top clubs, is not our fault - or a problem. If concrete offers come through, it'll be my duty as sporting director to weigh them up, just as my offers are assessed when I contact other sporting directors. It was what I did at Sevilla and, fortunately, that yielded decent results.

"Just as I did then, I'm in a position to make the decisions I feel are right. I can tell you, with 100% certainty, that I've made three times more calls about bringing players here to Roma than calls I've received."

Monchi went on to state that the objective is to improve the Giallorossi and that the club are not interested in offering their players for sale.

"I want to be clear with you all about one thing: Roma are not going around the world soliciting offers for our players and we certainly do not want to dismantle the playing staff," he added. "In fact, it's the opposite, and I say to the fans that our objective is always the same: to improve the squad.

"A sporting director is always pleased when the names of players he is following do not appear in the papers, but do not think that we are sleeping on the job."

Chelsea are currently third in the Premier League table, 15 points behind league leaders Manchester City.