Roma and Manchester City Agree to €23M Fee for Edin Dzeko

It has been precisely 120 since we first reported on Edin Dzeko’s longing for a move to Roma, a story that first surfaced out of nothing more than pure speculation that Dzeko, in an effort to find more playing time, wanted to reunite with his countryman, Miralem Pjanic. The days and weeks in between were filled with extreme fluctuations in values, ranging from over €30 million down to €15 million, with the occasional smattering of an Adem Ljajic make weight thrown in for good measure.

Late last week word leaked out that Walter Sabatini had made progress with Manchester City, closing the negotiation gap to two million Euros; not ideal but far from a deal breaker. Well, Monday has brought with it good news, as multiple sources are reporting that the two sides have finally agreed on a transfer fee for the 29-year-old Bosnian, with Roma sending €23 million to Manchester City, while signing Dzeko to a five-year deal worth €4.5 million per year.

However, lest you think this deal is officially done, there remains one sticking point, because, you know, why not drag this out even further? While €23 million may be the final figure, the exact payment schedule remains a point of contention. City are demanding the full monty up front, while Roma are hoping to scale it back to €18 million upfront with the remaining €5 million coming in the form of unnamed bonuses.

Whatever the case may be, Walter Sabatini appears to have finally landed his white whale, and while we’ll offer him kudos for talking City down from thirty million, we’re still talking about a €45.5 million investment, when both the transfer fee and Dzeko’s wages are factored in.

That is a substantial…substantial…investment. For Sabatini’s sake, he better hope Dzeko is the missing piece in Roma's Scudetto puzzle.