Roma are tracking Chelsea left-sider Yuri Zhirkov as Claudio Ranieri asks the club for reinforcements in January.
The Giallorossi have closed the first half of term in the Champions League positions and with a last 32 Europa League place in the bag.
With that in mind, Il Corriere Dello Sport claims Ranieri has approached president Rosella Sensi with a request to bring in new players next month. Zhirkov was signed by Chelsea from CSKA Moscow in the summer, but has been plagued by injury ever since, limiting him to just one appearnce in the Premier League and three Champions League games.
His injury situation notwithstanding, the ‘Tinkerman’ is keen to bring Zhirkov in on a loan deal until the end of the season. The Giallorossi would prefer this option as they are not prepared to spend major sums given the club’s policy of keeping expenses down.