Edin Dzeko will be re-integrated into the Roma squad after rejecting January moves to West Ham United and Southampton, as reported by Gianluca di Marzio.
For a while there, it seemed the evergreen striker was about to walk away from the Stadio Olimpico under the darkest of clouds.
A bitter row with Roma coach Paulo Fonseca meant that one of the most prolific forwards in Serie A looked destined to depart in the final week of the winter window.
Il Romanista reported that Dzeko, who won two Premier League titles with Manchester City, had been made available for transfer.
He rejected approaches from West Ham and Southampton, however, while a swap deal involving Inter Milan’s Alexis Sanchez failed to materialise, with the Giallorossi struggling to offload their £130,000-a-week talisman.
But, as the window closed on Monday night, it seems there has been a thaw in the frosty relations between player and coach.
Just in time too, with a trip to Juventus looming on the horizon.
Di Marzio believes that, on Saturday, Dzeko will be included in Fonseca’s matchday squad for the first time since the 3-0 derby defeat to Lazio in mid-January.
Roma director Thiago Pinto has been hard at work looking to resolve an unseemly situation and it appears that he has succeeded.
Di Marzio adds that the 34-year-old Dzeko reacquainted himself with the rest of the first-team roster on Tuesday, having spent the last week or so training by himself.
Dzeko will not get his captain’s armband back any time soon. But, for now, news of a peace treaty will help Roma fans sleep a little easier.
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