Report: How Benitez and Slimani made Dzeko’s Chelsea move collapse
According to "Le Buteur" (via 90min.com), Monchi had chosen Islam Slimani to replace Edin Dzeko at Roma. It seems like the Roma general manager even found an agreement with Leicester for Slimani. The problem? Rafa Benitez called Slimani towards the end of January to convince him to join his squad instead.
The Algerian forward finally accepted Benitez's proposal as his move to Roma then failed to occur. If Slimani had joined Roma, then Dzeko's move to Chelsea would've probably occured as well. It is true that there were financial differences between the Bosnian and the Blues but if Roma pushed for a deal, then it would've probably occured (as Roma would've maybe even slightly lowered their financial demands for him). In the end, a move failed to occur as Edin Dzeko stayed in Rome for the time being. It remains to be seen if he will leave come summer time...