According to the latest reports, Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud is planning to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge for another season after his contract expires in the summer. The French forward was linked with a move away from the Premier League in the January transfer window and seemed certain that he will move in the summer but that option now looks unlikely.
Ever since Maurizio Sarri has taken charge of Chelsea football club since the summer of 2018, he has done quite a decent job at the helm. The former Napoli manager replaced fellow Italian compatriot Antonio Conte at West London. At the beginning of his term, Sarri earned plenty of plaudits and praise from pundits and fans all across the world for the attacking and attractive style of football that he brought into the Premier League. Chelsea got past their Group stage in the Europa League with ease and made it into the Round of 16 as well. The Blues also reached the League Cup final but lost out to Manchester City on penalties last month.
Chelsea was doing quite well in the Premier League as well until recent humiliating defeats against Bournemouth and Manchester City allowed the Blues to slip up in the race for the top 4. Chelsea currently sits sixth on the League table and are just five points behind 4th placed Manchester United in the hunt for a Champions League berth and also have a game in hand. When Manchester United also eliminated Chelsea out of the FA Cup last week, Sarri’s job was on the line and the 60-year-old was close to facing a sack but a win over local London rivals Tottenham Hotspur brought the master tactician some extra time. Amid all this chaos of a change on management, Chelsea was hit with a transfer ban by FIFA which meant that the Stamford Bridge outfit would not be able to sign players for a whole year starting from the summer.
Chelsea already loaned out Alvaro Morata to Atletico Madrid in the January transfer window and Christian Pulisic will arrive at the West London club but that has not hampered an old veteran in the form of Olivier Giroud.
Giroud made the switch to Chelsea from across the North London side Arsenal back in January 2018 as the Frenchman signed an 18-month contract with the Blues. The 32-year-old striker won the World Cup with France in the summer of 2018 but still isn’t able to get regular football at Chelsea. However, with the transfer ban that Chelsea will face, Giroud is preparing himself to remain at the club for another season.
The former Gunner has already netted seven times this season and notched up four assists as well across all competitions. However, the Blues will have the option to extend Giroud’s contract for another year and are on course to exercise that. It will also increase Giroud’s value as a player if Chelsea decides to sign him in the summer. Ligue 1 clubs Lyon and Marseille are interested in bringing Giroud back to France but no final decisions have made.
