With the transfer window done and dusted, there will be plenty of players sitting down disappointed they never got their move.
Olivier Giroud will undoubtedly find himself in that group. The Frenchman had made it clear he wanted to leave Chelsea in the window and had plenty of options to do so.
Inter Milan were particularly keen on his signature but, despite signing pretty much everyone else from the Premier League, the Italians never bothered getting a deal done.
Instead, Giroud has been left kicking his heels at Stamford Bridge and praying he gets enough games to go to Euro 2020 with France.
The affair proved to be a frustrating one for the Chelsea striker, and RMC Sport have provided all the details about what went on behind the scenes.
They report that Giroud was in contact with Inter for several weeks, with the Italian side first contacting the player and his entourage back in December.
Inter boss Antonio Conte even called the striker to tell him he wanted him in Italy and, after ‘several days of reflection’ Giroud decided he wanted the move.
With that under their belt, Inter opened negotiations with Chelsea and, over the course of a phone call, the two clubs agreed on a €6.5m deal with bonuses included, with Giroud later agreeing a two and a half year contract.
Everything looked to be sorted and then, ‘the problems start’. First, Inter explained they had to focus on the arrival of Ashley Young and Christian Eriksen, as well as getting rid of Matteo Politano.
Several days later, Inter revealed they couldn’t afford Giroud after the arrival of Eriksen and, less than a week before the end of the window, dropped their interest altogether having failed even to make an offer.
That left Giroud stuck at Chelsea, who explained he could still go if they found a replacement. This led to a late call to Napoli for Dries Mertens, but the discussions there failed.
‘Bored’ of the situation, Chelsea told Giroud they couldn’t get a replacement, so the exit door was definitively closed.
Naturally, Giroud was left upset, with a source close to the player making it clear they aren’t happy about Inter’s behaviour.
“Inter Milan’s attitude towards Olivier Giroud has been very disrespectful,” the source told them.
“We’ve made a player who’s behaving in an exemplary fashion and who had given priority to Inter Milan wait and even shimmer with anticipation.”
