Roma striker Edin Dzeko has stated his wish for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to make his move to Roma permanent, Express reports.

Mkhitaryan has spent the majority of the campaign at Roma on loan from Arsenal.

Dzeko told Roma Forever: “I have always liked [Mkhitaryan] as a footballer and now that I have known him I can say that he is a very good person and a fantastic player, we want to keep him and we hope that he stays.

“We need people like him to make important results.”

Roma manager Paulo Fonseca has also said both he and Mkhitaryan want the deal to be made permanent.

“I’ve already said it and I’ll say it again: I want Mkhitaryan to stay. Henrikh also wants to stay,” Fonseca said.

“However, it must be said that everything is on pause right now. We still need to talk to Arsenal.

“I want to keep working with him. He’s a great player and a great man.”