Before eventually landing Olivier Giroud from Arsenal, Chelsea were desperately knocking on doors around Europe in search of a target man to help out Alvaro Morata.
One of the big stories of the last week of the January transfer window was Antonio Conte’s attempts to convince Edin Dzeko to move to Stamford Bridge, and it nearly happened.
AS Roma and Chelsea managed to get a deal over the line for Emerson Palmieri, and the Bosnian’s was just around the corner, but, among other things, his demands were higher than what the Premier League club had in mind for a 32-year-old.
In the end, Dzeko stayed in Italy, and is slowly but surely regaining his confidence in front of goal, as shown by his finish against Shakhtar in the Champions League on Tuesday to help his side qualify for the competition’s quarter-finals.
By doing so, he’s gone further than the team he would have joined, and, in quotes relayed by Corriere dello Sport, he said: “I stayed to live evenings like the one against Shakhtar”.
Down their end, Chelsea were knocked out by a Messi inspired Barcelona side, drawing 1-1 in the home leg before losing 3-0 at the Nou Camp.
Antonio Conte’s side now have a long way to go if they are to qualify for the competition next season, currently sitting fifth in the Premier League, four points behind Liverpool in fourth.
