Olivier Giroud
‘Bigger than Arsenal’, ‘King’: Some Chelsea fans react to recent transfer update
A selection of Chelsea fans reacted on Twitter after Olivier Giroud made the move to the Serie A with AC Milan. The 34-year-old made a good impression during his three-and-a-half seasons with the club, helping them win three trophies. He was sparingly used last term with the competition for places, but still made his mark with 11 goals across all competitions. That included six goals in the Champions League from just 257 minutes. He was the top scorer in the competition for the Blues. Giroud’s contract was extended for another season earlier in April, but it was always anticipated that he would move on. With the Blues actively searching for an elite striker, it was probably the right time for the Frenchman to pursue a fresh challenge. His departure has been met positively by many Blues fan...
Euro giants aiming to sign three Chelsea players including 28-year-old star – report
Serie A giants AC Milan are looking to raid Chelsea this summer. The Rossoneri already signed Fikayo Tomori from the Blues on a permanent deal, after enjoying a successful loan spell last season. According to reports from Sky Sports, the Serie A giants are looking to sign three more players from Chelsea this summer. Milan are heavily interested in signing Olivier Giroud, Hakim Ziyech, and Tiémoué Bakayoko, and they are emerging as leading targets for them. The report claims that of the three main targets, Giroud is close to leaving Stamford Bridge this summer, after his agent has already agreed on a two-year deal for the striker at the San Siro, worth 3.5m euros per season plus bonuses. Sky Sports claim that Milan could also turn to defensive midfielder Bakayoko, who previou...
Antoine Griezmann: Karim Benzema will end goal drought soon
Karim Benzema needs just one goal to get up and running for France again, says team-mate Antoine Griezmann. The striker approached Euro 2020 off the back of an excellent season at Real Madrid, having scored 30 goals in 46 matches, but Benzema is yet to find the net since making his return to the France squad after a six-year absence. Griezmann is confident the 33-year-old will start scoring regularly for Les Bleus before long, insisting he just needs one to get him going. “I think each attacker wants to score the first goal and the quicker he does that, the better it is for everybody,” Griezmann said at a press conference. “As soon as Karim gets one in the net, that will help him. We just need to be patient and remain confident. “You know me, I feel a lot better in the centre, I feel a lot...
Chelsea’s Champions League final squad confirmed
Thomas Tuchel has named his 25-man squad for the trip to Portugal to face Manchester City in the Champions League final. Our head coach looks set to have a full squad to choose from in Porto, with his 25 players flying to Portugal today ahead of Saturday’s final, following N’Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy’s return to training yesterday after picking up injuries in our last two Premier League fixtures. ‘N’Golo is looking good and I hope he stays like that for Saturday,’ said Tuchel. ‘Edou made a huge improvement with the management of pain from when the injury happened, which is good. We hope to have him back. If he is fit, then Edou will play.’ Chelsea squad listed below in squad number order Kepa Arrizabalaga Antonio Rudiger Marcos Alonso Andreas Christensen Jorginho Thiago Silva N’Golo Kan...
Crystal Palace, West Ham interested in striker with six Champions League goals this season
Crystal Palace and West Ham United are interested in landing the signature of Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud when his contract expires next month. The France international has been contracted with the Blues for the past three-and-a-half seasons, but he appears likely to head for the exit door this summer. The 34-year-old has gone out-of-favour over the past few months, with manager Thomas Tuchel preferring Timo Werner and Kai Havertz to lead the line. He has still impressed with 11 goals coming from just 1,200 minutes of first-team action. Six of those have come in the club’s Champions League campaign. Vincenzo Morabito, who is an intermediary of the player, has now revealed that the Blues would prefer to extend the contract of the striker. He added that there is interest from Palace and W...
WCQ: Tottenham’s Tanguy Ndombele returns to France squad
Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele has been rewarded for his upturn in form with a recall to the France squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers. The 24-year-old hasn’t featured for Les Bleus since the summer of 2019 but now has the chance to add to his six international caps in matches against Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Other notable returnees include Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Lemar, who hasn’t featured since November 2019, while Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele, a member of their 2018 World Cup-winning squad, is back for the first time in two-and-a-half years. This represents Ndombele’s first international call up since his club-record €60 million (£54m/$68m) move from Lyon to Tottenham. The Frenchman arrived in north London with a reputation as an all-action midf...
Report: West Ham eye move for ‘exceptional’ player in January after offloading Haller
West Ham United are looking to bring in a new striker this month after they offloaded Sebastien Haller, and the Hammers have reportedly earmarked Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud as a potential option. The Hammers allowed Haller to join Dutch giants Ajax for a fee of €22.5m (£20.3m) on Friday. He will be eligible to face PSV Eindhoven. Haller’s departure has freed up space for a new arrival, and West Ham are exploring options to replace him in their front line. The Hammers officials are looking into the financial aspect of the deal to sign Giroud, but they have other targets as well. According to Eurosport, sources close to the player believe he could leave Stamford Bridge this month, and the possibility of staying in London could tempt him to move to West Ham. Reims forw...
Frank Lampard looking to sell Tammy Abraham
Chelsea head-coach Frank Lampard has reportedly been left unconvinced by the progress of striker Tammy Abraham. The 22-year-old began the season as the first choice Striker of the Blue’s and had scored 17 goals in this campaign but found himself on the bench as the season progressed. Abraham lost his place in the side to Frenchman Olivier Giroud. According to Football Insider, The Striker’s lack of productivity is a cause of concern for the Manager. It is also reported that Lampard is not happy with the striker and may sell him in the summer transfer window if the right offer arrives. Although Abraham has a deal until 2023, it is reported that Lampard may look to sell the forward to make way for another high-profile centre-forward during the summer transfer window. The club has had a busy ...
Olivier Giroud explains decision to extend Chelsea stay
Getty Images Olivier Giroud has opened up on his decision to extend his stay at Chelsea, outlining his plans to “keep winning trophies” and show Frank Lampard “he can count on me”. Giroud completed a surprise move to Chelsea from Arsenal back in January 2018, and has since scored 21 goals in 76 outings for the club across all competitions. The World Cup winner played a key role in the Blues’ run to glory in the Europa League last season, but fell down the squad pecking order after Lampard was drafted in to replace Maurizio Sarri in the Stamford Bridge hot seat. Tammy Abraham has served as Chelsea’s first-choice centre-forward throughout the 2019-20 campaign, with Giroud restricted to just nine Premier League appearances in total. The 33-year-old was tipped to leave the club in January amid...
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard faced with critical transfer decisions
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is faced with critical transfer decisions when the transfer window finally opens. There are many doubts of the futures of some of his regular first-team players such as Jorginho, Olivier Giroud, Willian and Pedro at the Stamford Bridge. orginhois wanted by Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri, the bond between the manager and Jorginho is still very intact right from their days at Napoli and Chelsea before the Italian quit Stamford Bridge for Juventus. Sarri has proposed a swap deal that involves Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic going to Chelsea and Jorginho to Juventus a proposal Jorginho would entertain in his widest dream as his affinity with his former boss remains unscratched. The Chelsea vice-captain is instrumental to Lampard set up, though Lampard is not e...
