Olivier Giroud hoped to see in the winter transfer window a way out to allow him to leave Chelsea. It has just suddenly closed at the nose of the Blues' center-forward. For a month, he hoped to leave the London club where his playing time has been further reduced in recent weeks. But Frank Lampard, his coach at Chelsea, showered his last hopes on Friday. Having been unable to buy players in January, Chelsea refused to let any player go.
“The transfer market is 95% closed for us. The answer is probably no for the players you plan to ask questions about, ”said Lampard at his press conference. When clarifying his thoughts on Giroud, he confirmed that the general veto also applied to him. “He was amazing both as a player and as a person during this period. Will he leave? No. He trained today. No inputs or outputs. Now it's my job to get the best out of all of my players. "
Number three for one place
Giroud, after having long hoped to get involved with Inter Milan, was ready to go elsewhere, provided he was given playing time. He was ready to move from Milan to Rome and get involved with Lazio. From now on, he will have to be content with possible appearances because, in the spirit of Lampard, the best center forward of his workforce is the young Tammy Abraham. And its lining is the Belgian Michy Batshuayi. Number three for a single place, the equation is complicated for Giroud. And, by extension, for Didier Deschamps who had warned him: without sufficient playing time in 2020, he risks losing his place as holder of the French team.