Report: Chelsea to launch £44M bid to sign Roma's Dzeko, Emerson

Chelsea is prepared to ramp up efforts to boost its ranks by launching a bid to sign Roma teammates Edin Dzeko and Emerson Palmieri.

The Premier League side is said to be confident that a combined bid worth £44 million (€50 million) will be sufficient to persuade the Giallorossi to sell the pair, according to Fabrizio Romano of the Guardian.

It's believed a successful bid could ultimately be worth as much as £57.2 million if Roma demands an extra £13.2 million in add-ons.

Talks between the two teams were initiated last week and are expected to resume Monday following Roma's Serie A encounter with Inter on Sunday.

Out-of-favour Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi has reportedly been offered on loan as part of the deal, but Roma is expected to pass on the Belgian in favour of finding its own alternative to replace Dzeko in attack. Romano also suggests Borussia Dortmund could be a possible destination for Batshuayi if the German club agrees to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal.

Interest in Dzeko follows Chelsea's reported pursuit of English forward Andy Carroll from West Ham United. The Blues have also been linked to Burnley forward Ashley Barnes.

After winning the Serie A scoring title with 29 goals last term, Dzeko, who joined Roma on a permanent deal from Manchester City in 2015, has found the back of the net nine times in 19 league matches.

Chelsea forwards have only managed to score five times outside of Alvaro Morata's 10 Premier League goals this season.

Meanwhile, Palmieri will hope Chelsea is willing to give him a proper look in defence after recently overcoming a major knee injury that kept him out of action for several months. Former Manchester City defender Aleksandar Kolarov has taken command of Roma's left-back position since returning to Italy last summer.