Roma striker Edin Dzeko wants assurances over first-team football at Chelsea before giving the green light to a move to Stamford Bridge, reports the London Evening Standard.
Chelsea are on the verge of signing Roma defender Emerson Palmieri in a deal worth £20m and Antonio Conte’s side are also hopeful of landing his team-mate, Dzeko.
The Bosnia international has been identified as the ideal striker to fill Conte’s desire to sign a target man but the former Manchester City striker has no interest in returning to the bench.
Dzeko was forced to leave City after failing to nail down a regular first-team spot at the Etihad and has since established himself as a key player for Roma in the last three years.
The 31-year-old is understood to be unhappy with Roma’s willingness to sell having only recently bought a new house in the City but will only consider joining Chelsea if Conte gives assurances about regular playing time.
Of players that have scored at least 30 Premier League goals since August 2011, only Sergio Aguero (1 every 108.1 minutes) and Harry Kane (1 every 111.9 minutes) have a better minutes per goal ratio than Dzeko (1 every 129.9 minutes).
