Olivier Giroud is still a Chelsea player.
Despite there being much confidence in France, ahead of the window, that a move would happen, the striker remains at Stamford Bridge.
He hasn’t been getting enough minutes under Frank Lampard, and the situation is made more urgent because Euro 2020 is on the horizon.
The World Cup winner will obviously want to play a big role at the tournament, but there’s the danger he could miss out entirely. Didier Deschamps has given several public hints to the striker about getting more games, and it’s not hard to imagine he’s been more blunt in private.
Thursday’s edition of L’Equipe says ‘concern grows’ over the player’s future.
L’Equipe put that down to, at least partly, a ‘chaotic relationship’ between Chelsea’s Marina Granovskaia and Inter manager Antonio Conte.
The Chelsea chief isn’t willing to compromise too much in negotiations, and therefore the move is difficult.
That said, Inter didn’t seem to have too many problems loaning Victor Moses from Chelsea, so perhaps the situation isn’t quite as presented.
L’Equipe also state, and this is likely more to the point, that Inter aren’t completely convinced on Giroud and that’s why they’ve left things so late.