France boss Didier Deschamps has this afternoon revealed his hope that Olivier Giroud manages to find a way out of Chelsea this month.
Chelsea stint
33-year-old hitman Giroud has been on the books at Stamford Bridge since January of 2018.
After Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s arrival at Arsenal pushed the Frenchman further down the attacking pecking order of the Gunners, Chelsea swooped to secure Giroud’s signature on deadline day.
And the veteran has since gone on to rotate in-and-out of the Blues’ starting XI, amid a number of changes in management.
Giroud’s most telling contribution to the Chelsea cause came last season in Europe, when the World Cup winner notched a hugely-impressive 11 goals and 4 assists en route to Europa League glory.
⚽️🥇 2018/19 top scorer…
🔵 Olivier Giroud 😘🏆#UELfinal | @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/m2uSE250bO
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 30, 2019
To this point in the current campaign, though, Giroud has majorly struggled for game-time.
New Pensioners boss Frank Lampard has settled firmly on Tammy Abraham as his first-choice centre-forward, with Michy Batshuayi also ahead of Giroud in the attacking pecking order at Stamford Bridge.
This has seen the former Arsenal man notch just 2 starts across all competitions thus far in 2019/20.
Exit links
As such, rumours of late have inevitably seen Giroud linked with a potential exit from Stamford Bridge.
The likes of Crystal Palace and Inter Milan have both been named as possible January destinations for the Frenchman.
Reports stemming from France last week, meanwhile, hinted at Giroud’s potential involvement in a swap deal involving Lyon star Moussa Dembele.
‘Not happy’
And one individual who is hopeful that Giroud will eventually find a way out of Chelsea this month is Didier Deschamps.
Despite his age, Giroud continues to play a key role in the French international setup, with Les Bleus boss Deschamps having therefore been questioned on his fellow countryman’s testing situation during an interview with TF1’s Telefoot earlier today.
And the World Cup winning tactician was clearly in no mood to mince words, explaining:
‘I think yes [he needs to move]. He knows very well he cannot be content with so little time. That is not even speaking about France, that is just on him.’
‘It is up to him to see which destination he prefers or chooses.’
‘I spoke with Olivier during the last international camp [in November]. Even during the one before, he already knew what is best for him.’
‘Olivier is not happy at this moment, based on the little playing time he is getting. It is not his fault; he is suffering through the situation.’
‘It is up to him to decide in order to have the best sporting conditions on a daily basis at club level.’
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