Chelsea are deliberating over whether or not to break their own transfer policy to sign Edin Dzeko after Emerson Palmieri agreed to move to Stamford Bridge from Roma.

And there are fresh fears over the future of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, with Real Madrid keen for him to stall over his new Chelsea contract.

Emerson, a left-back, is ready to join Chelsea on a four-year £80,000-a-week contract and the club must now decide whether to complete a double deal with Roma that includes 31-year-old Dzeko for a combined fee of around £44 million.

Roma are prepared to sell both players and, barring any late hitch with a medical, Emerson expects to become a Chelsea player in the coming days.

The only remaining doubt over Dzeko is whether or not Chelsea are prepared to sanction his part of the transfer that would be worth in the region of £24m.

Chelsea have generally not paid transfer fees for outfield players over the age of 30 in recent years. Samuel Eto’o joined on a free transfer in 2013 and Didier Drogba returned to the club for nothing a year later.