Reported by Simon Johnson of The Athletic this morning, the World Cup winning striker Oliver Giroud will now reportedly stay at Chelsea.
As reported by Gianluca Di Marzio, the article claimed that the Old Lady had turned their attention towards Giroud after failing to reach an agreement with Barcelona’s Luis Suarez and Roma’s Edin Dzeko.
This comes as new boss and Juventus legend Andrea Pirlo looks to add to his attacking options after the club released former Chelsea loanee Gonzalo Higuian on Thursday.
Competition in attacking areas.
With the arrival of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech this summer, question marks have been raised over how many minutes the 33-year old would get in the forthcoming campaign.
Plus, concerns surrounding his place in the French national team also came to the fore in the last six months, with Giroud growing anxious over the Euro 2020 selection.
But with Werner likely to play off the left, Havertz in-behind the striker and Ziyech on the right- who will all look to play off a target man- game time should not be a problem for Giroud, especially with the jam-packed fixture list.
Giroud, who signed from London rivals Arsenal in the January of the 2017/18 season for £15.30m (Transfermarkt), has assured his contentment with Chelsea's recent transfer business- if it helps to strengthen the squad and facilitate a challenge for the Premier League title.
Despite turning 34 at the end of the month, Giroud is eager to showcase his ability and continue his role as senior figure in the dressing room, which proved vital with the influx of youth players last season.
Speaking to the Guardian in June after signing a 1-year contract extension with the Blues, Giroud said:
“[Werner] is going to be a very good signing and more motivation for strikers."
"I’ve been the super sub but I want to make the gaffer’s choices even more difficult.”
“We have a very competitive team, with a good alchemy between the youngsters and experienced players. We expect new signings because it’s been two transfer windows [without any] but I have a lot of expectation about this squad. [...] I will give my best to be back in the team. I’m excited.”
Giroud- a world-class striker.
Fans and pundits alike have consistently questioned Giroud's credentials as a starting centre forward ever since he arrived on English shores from Montpellier HSC in 2012.
“All through my career I have always been through difficulties. The best thing to do is to bounce back. I was close to leaving the club but I didn’t really want to. I needed game-time for the Euros and it’s true I spoke with the gaffer regarding maybe letting me go for another challenge. He said ‘yes’. He understood my situation. He was a player and we always had a great understanding regarding my future.
“When he told me that I was going to have more chances to show, I just trusted him, and I really want to fight for it, like I have done before at Arsenal. My motivation was very high. He gave me the opportunity and I just tried to pay him back. It feels like a new start. I want to win more trophies with Chelsea.”
Netting 80 goals in in 229 Premier League appearances, a whopping 92 of said appearances have come off the bench- earning him the second best scoring record from the bench in league history.
In 1000 Premier League minutes in the season just gone, Giroud scored 8 goals whilst averaging 2.2 shots and 0.4 key passes per90.
His undoubtable quality has played a crucial part in Chelsea's trophy success in the previous two seasons in FA Cup and Europa League- a goal he set himself after a lack of silverware as a Gunner.
Could we still be saying 'au revoir' to Giroud?
There is no doubt that Chelsea will want to trim the current squad in order to balance the books after such investment his transfer window.
Yet, stances on who can depart the club can always change- it is 'silly season' after all.
But as things stand, it would be very surprising if Giroud was to leave, with the club working on deals to move on Tiémoué Bakayoko and Emerson Palmieri, whilst Michy Batshuayi has rejoined Crystal Palace on loan.