Olivier Giroud

OhForAGreavsie · March 4, 2020

Ollie is definitely our best striker. That fact is a problem in itself of course but, until the club fixes it, let's be grateful that no one matched his valuation in January.

Jase · March 6, 2020

Giroud bullied Van Dijk and Gomez – then made it clear he wants Chelsea stay

https://theathletic.com/1655690/2020/03/06/olivier-giroud-chelsea-future-transfer/?source=shared-article

Tottenham, West Ham, Inter Milan, Aston Villa, Lazio and Newcastle. These are just some of the clubs who have tried to sign Olivier Giroud in 2020 but no-one has yet discussed the possibility of the striker playing for Chelsea next season.

Giroud was struggling to keep the smile off his face while talking about his future shortly after Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup fifth round. He had just bullied one of the game’s best centre-half pairings in Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, so who can blame him?

But there is more to it than that. After spending most of the campaign watching from the sidelines while Tammy Abraham leads Chelsea’s attack, it has been assumed that the Frenchman is desperate to leave Stamford Bridge when his contract runs out in the summer. After all, there is a reason why the clubs listed above felt they could sign him in January.

Yet the situation isn’t quite so clear-cut. Giroud has made it pretty clear that of all the options available to him, one stands out.

When asked if he would like to stay at Chelsea, he replies emphatically: “Yes. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course. There are a few months to go, games to win and maybe another trophy, and after, you know, I think I have two (or) three nice seasons in front of me. It’s not the time to talk about contracts and everything but I will take a decision when it comes.”

Given he turns 34 in September, it would be easy to dismiss the possibility of Giroud getting his wish. Chelsea will be spending significantly in the summer on fresh talent to improve the squad and the centre-forward department has been highlighted as a priority.

Chelsea remain admirers of RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner and Lyon’s Moussa Dembele, although they will face competition for those two from Liverpool and Manchester United respectively. Neither will come cheap.

However, Chelsea are in a situation where a number of positions need improving and, due to rapidly rising transfer fees in recent years, their budget will struggle to solve all their problems. The club have already spent £33 million bringing in Hakim Ziyech.

At the moment, Lampard has Abraham, Michy Batshuayi and Giroud to choose from up front. Abraham is the club’s top scorer, has been in talks over a new contract and is surely not going anywhere.

The same can’t be said for Batshuayi. He has just over a year left on his agreement and after struggling to make an impact under Lampard, is being earmarked for sale. The Belgium striker might have left Chelsea already if potential suitors hadn’t been scared off by the asking price, with Chelsea demanding more than the £33.2 million they paid Marseille in 2016.

While you can’t rule out the possibility of both Batshuayi and Giroud departing in the summer, there is a very good chance one will remain to provide back-up.

The least costly option to keep out of the two will be Giroud because as far as sell-on value goes, Batshuayi can still command a reasonable fee and Chelsea won’t want to miss out on that. Despite question marks over his quality, he has 16 goals in 29 games for Belgium and has room for improvement at 26.

After making just seven appearances in the first six months, and being totally ignored by Lampard in December and January, Giroud is in a much better frame of mind as far as Chelsea is concerned. He has started four successive games during Abraham’s absence with an ankle injury and it shows how he has jumped above Batshuayi in the pecking order.

Significantly, his relationship with Lampard is perhaps better than it has ever been following a heartfelt conversation during January, when it looked certain he was heading for the exit.

“It was a tough month for me,” he adds. “I just spoke with the manager and I believed what he said, that I would get my chance and he has given me my chance. I have basically tried to give his confidence back on the pitch.

“I do my job the best that I can and I’m very happy to be back in the team. Of course, my confidence is better. The transfer window is behind me. I’m a Chelsea player, I’m happy here again and that’s the most important thing. Even if I don’t score, I try to help the team.”

Chelsea left it late to give Giroud a 12-month extension last year and are in no rush to talk about fresh terms now. But the scenario hasn’t been dismissed. It is very likely the European Championship this summer will be Giroud’s last major tournament at international level, so the pressure to play regularly at club level to keep his place with France will be reduced.

Lampard is bound to lean on the former Arsenal forward’s experience for the visit of Everton on Sunday as Abraham continues to recover from an ankle injury.

There has been no date set for the England international’s return but Giroud feels he is performing well enough to perhaps remain in the side regardless.

“My confidence is getting higher and higher because I am playing more games,” he says. “I don’t know how long Tammy will be out for, to be honest. When he comes back, I will need him to be ready and then we can have a good competition again, which will be good for the team.

“Everybody needs to be ready, to be good psychologically, to give everything for the team. I think that’s what we did against Liverpool. We know that we need more consistency, basically. That’s our weakness if I can say because we know we are capable of doing very nice stuff when we play with freedom and confidence.

“Sometimes in a season, you have to face difficulties. When you don’t play the way you like to, you have to be strong mentally and to have a good answer in the next game, to bounce back. It means you can show a great character. We know we have to improve this consistency.”

Whatever happens with Giroud over the next months, he has certainly been a good signing for Chelsea. A return of 20 goals in 75 appearances following his arrival from Arsenal for £18 million in January 2018 may not look that impressive on paper but his popularity among team-mates and the club’s fans tells a different story.

Giroud has won an FA Cup and Europa League with Chelsea and now he has a third medal in his sights. Their FA Cup quarter-final at Leicester City later this month won’t be easy, yet Giroud knows there is a level of expectation which has to be met at Stamford Bridge.

Owner Roman Abramovich is used to success. Since buying Chelsea in 2003, the team have ended a season without lifting any silverware only five times: in 2003-4, 2007-8, 2010-11, 2013-14, 2015-16.

The FA Cup is their last realistic hope of avoiding making it six. They trail Liverpool by 34 points in the Premier League, were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Manchester United and trail Bayern Munich 3-0 after the home leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Giroud concludes: “When you can’t fight for the (Premier League) title at Chelsea, you have to fight for the other trophies. The FA Cup is still a big trophy, especially in England. Obviously, I will be more than happy to help the team win another one.”

You can’t rule out Giroud trying to do exactly the same thing next year either.

Vesper · March 7, 2020

‘Yes. Yes. Yeah’ – Giroud makes it clear he wants to stay at Chelsea

https://theathletic.com/1655690/2020/03/06/olivier-giroud-chelsea-future-transfer/?source=weeklyemail