Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

Roma want Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko - Walter Sabatini

Roma view Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko as an ideal signing but believe it will be difficult to complete a deal for him, sporting director Walter Sabatini has said.

The Serie A runners-up are concerned that the Bosnia international, who cost City £27 million in 2011 and is on a lucrative contract that runs until 2018, will prove too expensive for them.

Dzeko has emerged as a target for Roma after a season when none of their players mustered more than eight league goals, while he lost his place in the City team.

The former Wolfsburg forward's agent, Irfan Redzepagic, has said on several occasions that his client does not want to leave City, his Bosnia team-mate Miralem Pjanic has said Dzeko would go "running" to Roma.

And while he was pessimistic about the chances of completing a deal, Sabatini has confirmed he wants to buy the target man.

"Dzeko is not very close, but Roma are trying to get him," Sabatini told reporters in Italy. "He's the right man for us, but tough to get, as he's expensive."

Sources told ESPN FC on Friday that City will not force Dzeko out and there is respect for his achievements after he played an influential role in their 2012 and 2014 Premier League title wins.

But Dzeko only scored twice in his last 23 appearances and was an unused substitute in City's final six games of the campaign.

He was affected by manager Manuel Pellegrini's switch from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, with Sergio Aguero operating alone in attack, while January signing Wilfried Bony moved ahead of Dzeko in the pecking order.

City, who also have a full contingent of 17 non-homegrown players in their squad, will have to sell one if they are to bring in other foreigners and their summer targets include Juventus' Paul Pogba and Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne.

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