There is such thing as life outside the Premier League

The truth is, and whisper it quietly, there does exists a life beyond the Premier League, with everyone's favourite big Bosnian a prime example of that.

A brief look at this week's European games will show you everything you need to know about life after the Premier League, with Roma's incredible comback victory over Barcelona built around Dzeko as the focal point, fellow former Manchester City man Aleksandar Kolarov at left wing-back and former Spurs stopper Federico Fazio at centre-half, players who, with all the will in the world, don't scream "Champions League semi-finalists".

Similarly, Marseille powered their way into the Europa League semis with a front three of Kostas Mitroglou (Fulham), Dimitri Payet (West Ham) and Florian Thauvin (Newcastle), two of which not only failed to make the grade at top English sides but at English sides full stop.

There are a myriad of factors that can unsettle a player when he moves to a new country and prevent them from reaching their best, be it: language, the food, the weather, leaving their family behind, style of play or any one of a hundred other reasons, but as fans of English football, we need to start to accept that just because a player isn't a hit on our shores doesn't necessarily make them a bad player.

This level of snobbery is rife among fans of the English top-flight, with phrases such as "if he were any good, he would be playing in England" prevalent in English stadiums and the likes of Dzeko having their failures in Blighty rubbed in their face for the remainder of their career and used to diminish their achievements elsewhere.

Getting back to Dzeko, his best days appeared to be behind him as he managed just 10 goals in 39 games in all competitions during his initial loan spell in Roma, but his 59 strikes in 100 games since in the league that is thought to produce the best defenders in Europe and arguably the world certainly suggest that there is life in the old dog yet.

 His dominant performance when faced with Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti at the Stadio Olimpico in midweek was a masterclass in lone centre-forward play and at the age of 32, Dzeko has established himself as an unlikely reference point for players who failed to reach the heights expected in the Premier League.

Mocked after his prospective move to Chelsea fell through, Dzeko has ended up having the last laugh.