“Would have been perfect” – Grotti, Sarri’s assistant at Chelsea, speaks about failed transfer

Olivier Giroud’s failure to secure a move away from Chelsea in January proved to be one of the biggest stories of the window.

The Frenchman looked sure to leave Stamford Bridge, having made it clear he wanted to be playing football elsewhere.

Inter Milan and Antonio Conte were keen, and for most of the window it looked like a move would happen.

Then, the Italian side ended up pulling out, despite signing everyone else they wanted from the Premier League, and Giroud was left stuck kicking his heels at Chelsea.

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Lazio were also keen on his signature, and made their move on deadline day, only for Chelsea to block a move as they failed to find a replacement in time.

Plenty envisioned Giroud being a star in Serie A, with him likely to have provided the perfect foil to Inter’s first choice strikers Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martínez.

One of them was Udinese manager Luca Grotti, who worked with Giroud at Chelsea last season when he was Maurizio Sarri’s number two.

“Giroud, in Inter, would have been perfect and assonant right from the start,” Tuttomercatoweb report him saying.

“Giroud in Lazio would have been a great alternative because he has very different characteristics from all Lazio forwards.

“He would require different lines of play compared to all the others.”