AS Roma reportedly view Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud as the ideal candidate to replace Edin Dzeko, who is expected to leave the Serie A club.
According to a report by Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport, Olivier Giroud has popped up on the radar of AS Roma over a possible late move before the January transfer window slams shut. The Chelsea striker is being eyed as a possible replacement for Edin Dzeko, who has grown out of favour with Paulo Fonseca.
Giroud joined Chelsea from Arsenal in January 2018 and has since proven to be a reliable customer in the final third. While he has been unable to establish himself as a regular for the Blues over the past three years, he has nevertheless delivered whenever called upon.
Till date, Giroud has turned out 107 times for Chelsea, with 37 goals and 14 assists to show for his efforts. That means he has directly contributed to a goal once every 103 minutes, which is a superb figure to say the least. The veteran striker, though, was reported to be frustrated with his role of being a rotation option and was consequently linked with a possible January exit in recent weeks.
In fact, Serie A champions Juventus were touted to be a possible destination for Giroud, with Andrea Pirlo himself hinting at the prospect of a winter move. However, the rumours linking the 34-year-old with a move to the Allianz Stadium quickly disappeared and now, AS Roma want to swoop him away from Chelsea.
At Roma, the future of Edin Dzeko is uncertain, with the veteran Bosnian international falling out with manager Paulo Fonseca. The former Manchester City striker has even been linked with Real Madrid and Barcelona, but Correire dello Sport suggest that they have not received any acceptable offers to offload him, which is their priority.
At the same time, Roma are exploring possible replacement options, with Giroud emerging as the top priority. However, the Giallorossi face an uphill task at convincing Chelsea to part ways with the French international, seeing as he started Thomas Tuchel’s first match at the helm at Stamford Bridge against Wolves.
With little time left for negotiations, it seems as if, for all intents and purposes, a possible move to sign Giroud is highly unlikely. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen if Roma can quickly conclude any negotiations with Chelsea, with the Frenchman their priority to replace, whose future also becomes quite interesting in the case Giroud makes his way to the Italian capital.
