Marcel Brands has previously hinted that we will not be splashing out on a striker in the summer, but Calciomercato are still linking us with a move for AS Roma’s Edin Dzeko.
Unfortunately, the Italian football news site also claim that West Ham United and Inter Milan are in the hunt for Bosnia-Herzegovina’s captain, and the duo have been in the race for a while.
The Hammers are said to have chased his signature in January when Marko Arnautovic looked set to leave East London and move to the Chinese Super League, while the San Siro outfit are now chasing his name to replace Mauro Icardi.
Inter could, though, leave the queue of clubs chasing the 99-cap international at any moment should they resolve the torrid relationship they currently have with the Argentine after stripping him of the captain’s armband.
They do that, and we would only be rivalling the Irons for Dzeko’s signature, and the former Manchester City hitman could be available for between €15-25million (£12.8-21.3m), which Calciomercato consider a set price as he will be entering the final year of his contract come July.
Brands’ belief in the youth already at the club could be the biggest issue in our efforts, though, as the 6-foot-3 centre-forward would only be a short-term answer to an ignored problem of the side that Dominic Calvert-Lewin is currently trying to solve.
If the 13-cap England U21 international is able to find the net more frequently than he currently is, it would be hard to see our Director of Football not continuing with his current policy.