Olivier Giroud wants a January move away from Chelsea after playing just 33 minutes in the Premier League this season with his place in the French national team under threat once again.
And that is bound to interest West Ham who have been linked with the player in the past when he left Arsenal and again since joining the Blues. They could be interested in a short term loan deal.
The 34-year-old striker has slipped further down the pecking order after the arrival of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz at Stamford Bridge.
He nearly left Chelsea this time last year due to a lack of game time but the forward earned his place back in Frank Lampard’s starting line-up to fire the west Londoners to help the team into a top-four finish last term.
The France striker scored seven goals after lockdown – six in the Premier League and one in the FA Cup win over Manchester United.
The striker has made more appearances for France than Chelsea since September, appearing for his national side six times but just five short appearances for Chelsea of which two were in the League Cup. Come January 2021, Giroud will have just six months left on his deal.
That means he will be eligible to kick-off pre-contract negotiations with clubs over a free move on July 1. However, it’s expected he would prefer to leave in January, to give himself six months to prove to Didier Deschamps he deserves to be part of France’s Europe 2021 quad.
Giroud would prefer to stay in London where his family is settled and that might give West Ham an advantage should they wish to move for him.
He has been continually linked with a potential move to the Hammers for several years now so expect speculation to hot up as we get closer to January transfer window as he angles for a move away from west London.
I’d hoped we’d stopped signing players who’d had great careers as generally they don’t deliver consistently once they’ve arrived. There is a reason he isn’t getting game time and that is probably younger and better teammates.
I would hope not. Hardly fits the stated profile. No no no.
Short term loan til summer – gotta be a decent option sort term mojen
He is more mobile than Haller, if we had Man City or Liverpool’s passing options Haller would look like a World Beater but much like Anderson in a counter attacking side that presses he is a weak link. Would take Giroud as a stop gap before signing a more mobile option in the Summer.
yep
Giroud has form in the PL and is a class striker. As a short term loan until summer I believe that he will score goals for us, and maybe have a positive effect on Haller’s attitude. If Giroud wants to come to WHU then, for me, it’s a no-brainer.
We don’t play a high press. He is tough, defends corners well and can still score. Would love to see him play for us.
Listen I would take hun for 6 months , if he is fighting for a place in the French squad he will be eager to perform. Despite his age he would provide adequate cover up front for just 6 months until we can find a longer term option. A loan would do us fine and save funds for the summer ⚒
That is at least 5 January’s in a row he has apparently been our target
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