West Ham United have reportedly reignited their interest in Olivier Giroud and are keen on signing the Chelsea striker this January.
According to a report by English outlet Claret and Hugh, Olivier Giroud is the subject of interest from West Ham United once again. The French international is reportedly eager to leave Chelsea and the Hammers could pounce on the situation to sign him on a short-term loan deal.
Giroud joined Chelsea from Arsenal in January 2018 and has since been a reliable backup option for each of the managers he has played under. Having first played second fiddle to Alvaro Morata, the veteran striker was a dependable deputy for Tammy Abraham after Frank Lampard took charge at the start of last season and was in exceptional form upon the turn of the year.
The 34-year-old ended 2019/20 with a handy tally of 10 goals in 25 appearances, with almost all of the goals coming in the second half of the season. But, the arrival of Timo Werner has relegated Giroud to the being the third-choice striker for Chelsea. As a result, he has started just 1 game in the early days of this term, raking in a mere 33 minutes in the Premier League.
With Abraham and Werner likely to keep on battling for minutes, Giroud is expected to only feature heavily in cup competitions. And so, it has been mooted that things have reached a head for the French international, who is reportedly eager to leave Chelsea in the January transfer window. His situation has now piqued the interest of West Ham United.
The Hammers are not newly in pursuit of Giroud, having been previously linked with him in each of the last two winter windows. This time around, though, West Ham could be in good stead to prise the cultured striker away from Chelsea, seeing as he is keen to secure more game-time to earn a place in the France squad for next year’s European Championship.
The Premier League outfit are, therefore, set to propose a short-term loan deal for the second half of the season. Having said that, it will be interesting to see what Chelsea’s stance on such a transfer is, considering Giroud is in the final year of his deal at Stamford Bridge.
Giroud’s position on the move will also be intriguing, considering he will have to compete with Michail Antonio and Sebastien Haller for one spot in David Moyes’s side. For now, it looks like West Ham are once again in pursuit of Giroud and it remains to be seen if he makes a cross-London switch from Chelsea this January.
