Bengaluru, May 29: Roma striker Edin Dzeko has opened up about his failed January move to Chelsea insisting he was not ready for a move. Antonio Conte plotted a move for the Bosnia international to strengthen his attacking line-up after a dull campaign from Alvaro Morata.

The Italian enquired about the former Manchester City forward and even held lengthy talks regarding the transfer. The move was said to be on the cards, however, the player and the side both latter failed to agree on terms with the Premier League side and instead the Blues signed Arsenal forward Olivier Giroud in a cut-price deal.

Dzeko, however, stayed at Roma and went on to finish the season with 24 goals and six assists across all competition while helping his side to a top three finish plus leading them to the Champions League semi-final birth where they lost to Liverpool on 7-6 aggregate. And now the forward while talking about his failed transfer has revealed that he decided to opt against the move to Stamford Bridge because he felt he was not ready for the job.

The 32-year-old further added the people who were close to him too warned him against a transfer to west London which ultimately kept him at Roma.

He told Face TV: "Chelsea is a big challenge and I know what kind of a club that is, I've been at Man City and I wasn't ready to move to Chelsea. Nobody I spoke to wanted me to move to Chelsea so I decided to stay.

"It has been tough period, a lot of stories and information, true and false, were written, everything went through my head, I wasn't clear or certain of anything at the time."

Dzeko has a contract with Roma till 2020 but with the new season approaching, the rumours regarding the transfer of the in-form striker could arrive again.

The 32-year-old who has been a mainstay in the Italian side's starting XI for the last three years and also been valued highly by manager Eusebio as well as Sporting director Monchi.

However, the forward while talking about his future now has opened the door for a summer exit. The forward said he has not decided on his future as of yet and also not ruling out a possible departure from the capital club this summer.

He added: "Now I will play two games for Bosnia and then we'll see [where will I play]. I have another two years of contract, so Roma has to be asked about it too." Dzeko joined Roma in 2016 and has 73 goals to his name in 139 appearances.