Roma coach Jose Mourinho has acknowledged that the loss of Edin Dzeko to Inter came as a surprise to him, and that he expected to work with the Bosnian next season.

Speaking to Roma’s official TV channel, as reported by FCInterNews, the Portuguese head coach spoke about the effect the Dzeko’s departure has had on the Giallorossi’s preseason training.

Inter moved for the now-former Roma striker quickly after it was clear that Romelu Lukaku was headed for the exit door, and wasted no time in completing a deal for him, a fact which Mourinho acknowledges.

The Portuguese, who managed Inter for two seasons and won the treble with the Nerazzurri, spoke of uncertainty when it was clear that there was interest in the 35-year-old centre-forward, and his views reflect the broader lack of security experienced by many clubs in the economic situation faced by football right now.

“The reality is that we started the preseason thinking we had Dzeko,” Mourinho explained, “and it was a bit of a surprise for all of us what happened.”

He continued by saying that “the Dzeko situation, it’s a strange situation. It was clear that he would go to another club, but there were some doubts.”

“‘He goes away, someone comes, he does not arrive,'” said the coach about the uncertainty, “I heard the players much more worried about this situation than focused on the end of the preseason training. “