Manuel Pellegrini wants a summer reunion with Edin Dzeko and has made the Bosnian his top striker target, according to the Express.
The report claims that Pellegrini failed to land him in the January window but isn’t giving up and is willing to pay him £165,000-a-week over the next two seasons – £8.58million-a-year.
Dezko has already turned down a move to the Premier League with Chelsea in 2018 but the report says he could now be open to one last lucrative move.
The Bosnian international moved to Roma from Man City for £9.9million in 2016 after spending a season there on loan.
He’s scored an impressive 85 goals in 172 games for the Italian side and is under contract until 2020.
A good move for West Ham?
His goal-scoring record is fantastic. 85 in 172 for Roma, 55 in 101 for his country, and he’s still banging them away. This season he’s scored 12 in 33 games, including five in six in the Champions League. And Pellegrini knows him well from his Man City days. He’s not injury prone, has a good attitude and has a couple of years left in him. The only problem is that he’s 33-years-old. That means it could come down to the fee, with West Ham unlikely to want to spend much money on a player who will come with big wages – £8.58million a year at the reported rate – and very little sell-on value when he’s 35. It’s a big, expensive gamble, but if money was no object then we’re sure he could still do a job in the Premier League.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10
Likely to happen?
It could come down to the money. We’re sure that Dzeko would love a last run-out in the Premier League, but there are definitely easier places to play for veterans like the Bosnian. However, Pellegrini obviously enjoyed a good relationship with him at Man City and Dzeko enjoyed his time in England. He was quoted as saying, “It’s probably too late for me to return to the Premier League, but you never know: we’ll see. I love English football, I played in the Premier League for four-and-a-half years and enjoyed it a lot, even if I’m happy at Roma right now.” We’d love to see him back too and feel we didn’t see enough of him when he was at Man City.
This is Futbol rating: 6/10