Inter and Roma considered swapping the unwanted duo but the move did not materialize, leaving both players in a strange position.
Just three days before the end of the January transfer window, it emerged that Inter and Roma were hosting the idea of a swap contract with Alexis Sanchez and Edin Dzeko.
Sources close to the two players even said the move was almost done.
That was not the case, however, as both Inter Beppe Marotta sports director and Roma general manager Tiago Pinto revealed.
“Representatives have been a little too cautious in pushing forward negotiations without talking to the owners,” Moratta said. DAZN. “The conversations ended before they started.”
He can easily understand why these “representatives” were so willing to contract; a move would have been appropriate for both players.
Dzeko was particularly keen to stop Stadio Olimpico, after falling out with coach Paulo Fonseca following last month’s defeat at Coppa Italia by Spezia.
Surprisingly, Roma were beaten 4-2 in a last-16 issue with two red cards, but that was only the beginning of the drama.
It was noted immediately afterwards that the Giallorossi had brought in six substitutes during the game, after mistakenly believing that they should make one more change than the usual five. .
As a result, Spezia got a 3-0 win and Roma team manager Gianluca Gombar was immediately eliminated.
Dzeko was among those upset when Gombar was sacked and he, along with several other team-mates, criticized Fonseca over the decision.
According to the Sport Corriere dello, Several players, including the Bosnian, refused to train the next day in protest at Gombar’s withdrawal.
Dzeko was then taken out of the squad to face Spezia in Serie A that weekend – officially due to injury, just to be left out of the traveling party for last Sunday’s trip to Verona.
At that point, it was clear that Dzeko was in control and rumors of a move were accelerating.
But, as Amas published, Manchester City turned down the opportunity to re-sign a five-year-old player at the Etihad Stadium between 2011 and 2016.
With Juventus openly looking to strengthen their attack, and Andrea Pirlo pushing for Dzeko ‘s signing last summer, a move to Turin appeared much more feasible.
But, Amas they learned that the Bianconeri were no longer interested, mainly because of Alvaro Morata ‘s good form and the appearance of Dejan Kulusevski as an advance operational option.
Juve, however, had also turned their attention to bringing in a younger striker so they were willing to take on a 34-year-old earning a net salary of € 7.5 million (£ 6.6 million). m / $ 9m) at the Stadio Olimpico.
Dzeko’s salary was also an issue for Inter. In fact, by putting Alexis aside, they would have removed Chile’s € 7m-a-quarter (£ 6.1m / $ 8.4m) quarterly contract from their accounts.
However, while that increase of € 500,000 may not seem significant, it was for Inter, who are currently unable to increase their costs.
It was clear that Antonio Conte was keen to sign Dzeko, who first tried to bring him to San Siro in 2019, although he stayed coy on the swap exchange contract with Sanchez when he came up ahead of last weekend’s Inter le Benevento affair.
“I do not want Dzeko to sign, it is up to the club,” he told reporters. “Sanchez is our player, I want him to aim for the next game.”
As usual, however, it didn’t take long for Conte to make his employers happy.
Following the loss of the Coppa Italia semi-final to Juventus, the Inter boss complained about Inter’s inability to bring in new players during the January transfer window due to Suning Holding Group’s efforts to sell the club.
“It’s a strange situation, there’s no reason to deny it,” replied the coach. “We started with a project and that project froze in August.”
So where does all this leave Dzeko and Sanchez? On the bench, perhaps.
After peace talks between Dzeko, Fonseca and Pinto at Roma, a break has been broken that will see the No. 9 return to the squad for this weekend ‘s game against Juventus.
It is very likely that Dzeko will not start, however, with Borja Mayoral having done well leading the line without him, getting three times in two games.
In addition, he was removed from the captain. The ball will be on Bryan Cristante on Saturday but Lorenzo Pellegrini, who is suspended for the trip to Turin, is expected to be officially confirmed as the new captain next week.
Dzeko, of course, is too good for Fonseca to avoid altogether. He needs to score opposing goals if Roma are to sustain their incredible push for a top-four finish.
Indeed, Fonseca ‘s work could be largely dependent on Dzeko, as the situation in Portugal was questioned after the Spezia debate.
Even if their treaty paves the way for a return to the Champions League, it looks like one of them will leave at the end of the season.
This is not a long-term solution. As Fabio Licari wrote in the Sport Gazzetta dello earlier in the week, “[Dzeko and Fonseca] they are like a couple who stayed together for the children, but who sleep in separate beds at night. ”
Meanwhile, Sanchez and Conte are happier together. The former Manchester United striker pulled another blank in Tuesday’s Coppa loss to Juve, meaning he remains goalless in all competitions since November 28, and has just two in total since his permanent move to Milan was confirmed last summer.
Conte could hardly have bothered to admit Sanchez when he spoke to the media afterwards: “I don’t know if he was tired. In fact, he tried to do his best. in the game, but it needs to be more clinical when it comes to scoring goals [judging] the strikers are ruthless, and his numbers must be better. “
He may not get many more opportunities to improve his strike rate, though. He was only playing with Romelu Lukaku sent off and with Inter already out of Europe, Sanchez is ready to spend a big chunk of the rest of the season on the bench.
Dzeko may be doing better but it’s hard to escape the feeling that he and Sanchez will be playing elsewhere next season.
It seems that the collapse of the proposed exchange agreement has just been inevitable.