Report: Roma accepts Chelsea's £44M bid for Dzeko, Emerson

AS Roma has accepted Chelsea's bid of £44 million plus £13.2 million in add-ons for the signatures of Edin Dzeko and Emerson Palmieri, and will look to complete a deal before the January transfer window closes next week, report Fabrizio Romano and Dominic Fifield of the Guardian.

Negotiations between the two clubs for Palmieri are "straightforward," but Romano and Fifield report that Dzeko still needs to be convinced about his playing time at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea is apparently willing to bend its own rules to complete the signing of 31-year-old Dzeko - the club doesn't customarily offer contracts longer than one year for players over 30, but the Blues are expected to offer a deal that runs until 2020.

As part of the deal, the Blues have also offered Michy Batshuayi to the Italian outfit on loan, but Roma is looking for alternative solutions to its striking ranks. Chelsea already loaned left-back Kenedy out to Newcastle, and manager Antonio Conte explained a similar arrangement is in the works for Batshuayi.

"It's the same as Kenedy. If arrives another striker, then Batshuayi will go on loan," Conte said, as quoted by the Evening Standard. "I think he wants to have the opportunity to play with regularity. I think this is right."

Chelsea has been linked with a number of tall centre-forwards in January, including West Ham's Andy Carroll and Stoke City's Peter Crouch. A deal for Dzeko emerged after Carroll discovered a foot injury, while Palmieri is being pursued to alleviate some of Marcos Alonso's responsibilities on the left wing. Chelsea was also reportedly keen on Juventus left-back Alex Sandro.

Dzeko last played in the Premier League with Manchester City between 2011 and 2016, but has thrived at Roma, scoring 12 goals in 27 tilts this season.