Edin Dzeko would be a dream signing for Juventus, according to the Italian club's general director, Giuseppe Marotta.

Dzeko, who has scored 62 league goals over the last two seasons to become one of the most in-demand strikers in Europe, is looking to leave Wolfsburg and has attracted interest from several leading European teams.

He was previously wanted by Milan, while Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has expressed a wish to bring the Bosnia-Herzegovina international to the Premier League.

"Dzeko? It's the dream that I'm working on," said Marotta in the Turin-based sports newspaper Tuttosport. "He is one of the best strikers in the world and clearly he is an object of our desire. It's true that we are negotiating and I have spoken to them [Wolfsburg] but they are asking for a lot and we are trying to follow the cheaper option. They like some of our players but we know that what you buy is not always better than what you sell."

It seemed earlier this summer that the 24-year-old, the Bundesliga's top scorer last season, would remain at Wolfsburg for at least another year after a 1 June deadline to meet a €40m (£33m) release clause in his contract passed.

Marotta insists Juve will not lose the plot in the transfer market. "We will nevertheless be rational," he said. "In today's transfer market you cannot go mad financially."