Over the past few days, there have been a number of articles written about Olivier Giroud’s future at Chelsea, with the striker excelling for France (Finland game aside) but barely featuring at Stamford Bridge.
It’s clear Frank Lampard has favoured new signing Timo Werner over the Frenchman since the start of the season, but with the Euros looming next year, the forward wants to play.
Didier Deschamps has made it clear he wants Giroud to find a new club if he can in order to guarantee him a spot in the squad next summer, while others have suggested he should return to France, where he would be guaranteed minutes at any club in Ligue 1, barring perhaps Paris Saint-Germain.
One man who will be clued into what is actually happening, other than the striker himself, is his agent, who sat down with Foot Mercato to discuss his client’s situation.
Regarding an exit in January, he said: “For now, it’s too soon to know what’s really concrete or not. The interests, the rumours, for me, there’s little interest. We’ll see come mid-December. A January window, before mid-December, is just rumours. We don’t know where clubs will be nor how Olivier will do at Chelsea.
“We don’t know if there’ll be injuries, and therefore opportunities. So it’s pointless. There’s no real work on that at the moment. We don’t know today, there’s only been eight league games. Between now and January, there’s 11 games for Chelsea to play. Olivier belongs to his club, he’s focused on the competition and we’ll see in mid-December to decide one way or another”.
As for whether or not Giroud, who first made a name for himself at Montpellier in Ligue 1 before his big move to Arsenal, returns to France, that seems unlikely.
Michaël Manuello explained: “It’s not a priority. It’s always possible depending on what will be offered. It’s not excluded, but it’s not a priority. In terms of emotion, there’s other things to live. He’s played in France and was champion with Montpellier. These days, he’s not just looking for minutes. He also wants to enjoy himself.
“The ideal would be for him to try a new culture, do another horizon tour. Now, a new English clubs with objectives can make him think twice because the big difference with the Premier League is that it’s a special league, that offers a different pleasure. So, if a really good Premier League club comes forward, yes, that can be looked at, but there’s an openness in his mind to try something new elsewhere abroad”.
In short: “If tomorrow, Olivier has to leave, he’ll go knock on the manager’s door, who will tell him ‘I know, it’s fine’. There’s no need for continuous talks on that. When you’re mature, adult, there’s no need for all that. So staying at Chelsea is a priority, but if things don’t evolve, we’ll leave”.
