Man City move for striker Dzeko

Last updated : 29 December 2010 By BBC Sport

But such accounts are premature, with talks between City's chief negotiator Brian Marwood and Dzeko's agent still at an early stage.

Dzeko is under contract until 2013 and has a buy-out clause of around £30m.

The 24-year-old was linked with a number of clubs last summer but remained with Wolfsburg after clubs failed to meet the escape clause in his deal.

Edin Dzeko's a good player but I don't think he's strong enough for the Premier League

john

With the German club enduring a frustrating season under former England manager Steve McClaren, Dzeko could be on his way to Eastlands when the transfer window opens at the beginning of January.

Dzeko has established a reputation as one of Europe's leading marksmen during his time in Germany, scoring 10 times this season and taking his overall tally to 66 in 111 games for the club.

Dzeko, who was also top scorer in the Bundesliga last season, joined Wolfsburg from FK Teplice for 4m euros in 2007.

City manager Roberto Mancini has spoken of his admiration for Dzeko before, but the club have now stepped up their pursuit of a player they regard as an ideal replacement for Emmanuel Adebayor, who they will try to sell in January.

Wolfsburg general manager Dieter Hoeness has declined to comment, and club spokesman Gerd Voss told BBC Sport "We will not speculate on this. The silly season has begun with the January window about to open. We had it in the summer with Dzeko and we have it now again, but we will not comment."

Bayern Munich currently hold the Bundesliga transfer record with their 30m euros outlay on Mario Gomez from Stuttgart in 2009.

The 27m euros paid by Juventus for Werder Bremen's Diego in 2009 is the highest fee received by a Bundesliga club from a team outside of Germany.

Source: BBC Sport

Source: BBC Sport