Much like Moussa Sissoko did at one point in his career, Olivier Giroud is earning the reputation of being Didier Deschamps’ teacher’s pet in the France squad, as he keeps getting called up without really featuring with Chelsea.
The manager has warned his protégé this couldn’t last forever, and rumours have been circling of a potential exit in the summer to get some more game time, but, for now, the target man remains at Stamford Bridge.
However, this isn’t anything new, and Giroud could have easily given up on his time at Chelsea in the summer, but instead decided to stay and fight for a spot under Frank Lampard.
France Football dedicated numerous pages to the former Arsenal man this week, speaking to a number of people who know him well, including his old teammate at the Emirates, Laurent Koscielny, who left London this summer to move to Bordeaux in Ligue 1.
The defender, who also played with Giroud at Tours earlier on in their careers, know the 31-year-old inside out, and agreed to speak about him and his current situation a bit.
He said: “He’s criticised, has had many setbacks and has managed to get back up every time. Having a career filled of ups and downs at the start helped him build a character and then climb up the rungs one by one. When he’s finding it easy, he can sit back on his qualities, but when he’s in danger, going through a touch patch, that’s when he’s at his best.
“He’s a direct, serious guy. You can count on him. He’s the ideal teammate. He’s physically and mentally strong. I told him this year he wouldn’t start, but that his strength would make the wheel turn at one point, that he’d have his chance and, like always, he’d take it and make the difference. He’s underrated regarding his abilities and what he brings to the team”.
Describing Giroud as a ‘goalscorer who can make his teammates shine’, Koscielny clearly has all the faith in the world in the Chelsea player.
He’s not the only one who sees the striker can still offer something, which why a number of teams are still willing to give him a chance, even if it will be up to Frank Lampard and Marina Granovskaia to let him go in January if that is his wish.
At the end of the day, his situation cannot last, regardless of how strong willed he is, and he probably knows it, especially with the 2020 Euros right around the corner.
