Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud celebrates after scoring. (Getty Images)
According to Daily Mail, Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud is expecting to stay at Stamford Bridge despite his contract coming to an end in the summer.
Giroud, 33, came through the youth ranks of Grenoble Foot 38’s youth system and has featured for Tours FC and Montpellier. He made over 150 appearances for both the teams in total before moving to Arsenal in 2012.
A Gunner for six years, he made over 250 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 105 goals and providing 41 assists. He won the Community Shield and the FA Cup three times each in his Arsenal days and was a regular member under Arsene Wenger. He was then signed by Antonio Conte for Chelsea in 2017 and featured regularly until the end of last season.
Since the arrival of Frank Lampard as Chelsea’s manager, Giroud has seen limited game time. Meanwhile, Lampard’s men have struggled in recent weeks as they have managed to win just 2 of the last 7 league games. The youngsters were brilliant in the first half of the campaign but seem to have switched off in the last couple of months.
Despite a run of poor results, the Blues have occupied the last Champions League qualification spot and are pushing hard to maintain their focus. The injury to Tammy Abraham has been a big blow to the team as the youngster had led the attacking unit brilliantly so far.
However, in the absence of the English international. Lampard has turned towards one of the fringe players in the squad, Olivier Giroud, in recent weeks. The £110,000-a-week Frenchman has been exceptional in the last few games and has shown his ability to perform at a higher level.
He was brilliant coming on from the bench in the 0-2 loss against Manchester United last month and was on the score sheet against Tottenham. He was at his best in the FA Cup fixture against Liverpool and made the Reds’ defensive unit struggle. From all these, it is evident that the former Arsenal man has still got the energy left in his tank to continue in the Premier League.
The 33-year-old made use of his limited chances and has been the best version of himself despite missing the majority of the season. Hence, it would be a good choice by the club to keep hold of the Frenchman, who has provided Chelsea with the extra edge in the last few games.
The Blues failed to bring in reinforcements during the winter transfer window and have only one in-form centre-forward in Abraham apart from Giroud. Michy Batshuayi has failed to deliver whenever he has got the nod ahead of the World Cup winner.
Hence, to maintain depth in the frontline, Chelsea should extend Giroud’s contract and get the best out of him for a few more years.
