Edin Dzeko has joined Roma on a season-long loan for an initial €4m (£2.86m) with the striker to move permanently from Manchester City if “certain sporting situations” occur.
Roma had wanted to buy Dzeko now but City’s valuation of at least £20m means the initial deal is temporary. The Serie A side were prepared to offer €20m and offered Dzeko a five-year contract worth €4.5m-a-year. However, according to both clubs, Dzeko’s move will become permanent if the 29-year-old meets set targets in the coming season. Roma issued a statement saying they had paid €4m as a loan fee, while securing an agreement that the deal will become permanent for a further payment of €11m on “condition of the occurrence of certain sporting situations”.
Of the loan Dzeko said: “ I came here to win titles with Roma. I hope we will win many trophies but first we have to work hard on the field and in the end, we can get where we want. I can only promise you one thing: I will give my best to this team in every game.”
Despite agreeing a four-year deal at City last August Dzeko struggled to establish himself as the first choice under Manuel Pellegrini last season. He had not been a regular starter under the club’s previous manager, Roberto Mancini, who signed him from Wolfsburg in 2011.
On signing his new deal last summer, Dzeko said: “ I’m really happy here at City, it’s a second home to me, so it was an easy decision to stay for the long term. I knew from the beginning when I started here that I wanted to stay for a long time – I can’t see any place better than here.”
However, he managed only four league goals despite starting 22 games last season. He leaves Manchester a two-times Premier League winner, having also lifted the FA Cup and League Cup. He scored 50 Premier League goals in 130 appearances.
City have also allowed Stevan Jovetic to leave this summer , with the academy graduate Kelechi Iheanacho expected to offer back-up to the senior strikers Sergio Agüero and Wilfried Bony, while the new signing Raheem Sterling can also operate as a centre-forward. The club continue to be linked with a move for the former Chelsea playmaker Kevin De Bruyne.
“ Everybody at the club wishes Edin the very best for the future and thank him for his excellent service with Manchester City,” read a statement from the Premier League side.
