Olivier Giroud seems to be all but confirmed for Inter Milan. Chelsea is losing much more than just a striker in the Frenchman.
Olivier Giroud signed for Chelsea somewhat out of the blue after he had fallen out of favor at Arsenal. As part of a rather tricky shuffling around between Chelsea, Arsenal, and Dortmund, the Blues landed the big Frenchman.
While he was not necessarily brought in to be a starter, he proved valuable nonetheless. The goals were not always there but he almost always made the team look better with him on the field. Chelsea won the Europa League in large part because of Giroud’s contributions.
But Frank Lampard has struggled to find a place for Giroud in his plans with Tammy Abraham soaring. A move to Inter Milan seems just a matter of confirmation at this point. Chelsea will be losing much more than just a striker in Giroud.
Especially now, there is a desire to pack the squad with as many young players as possible in every position. That is fine, but the experience is needed too. Giroud may not have won a great deal at Arsenal, but he was still a leader at that club. He was the starting striker as France won the World Cup. Last season especially, his presence on the pitch lifted those around him.
It would be impossible to justify dropping Abraham for Giroud and it is perfectly understandable why he wants to leave but that is a big, wise voice leaving the dressing room. Sure, there will still be Pedro, Willian, Cesar Azpilicueta and more. But every time one leaves, especially when they are the elder for their position, something intangible is lost.
It is also hard to separate losing Giroud from his actual role in the squad. Abraham is fantastic but even he needs days off. Lampard seemingly settled on Michy Batshuayi quickly and on the one hand it does make sense; Giroud is simply not physically capable of being the pressing striker Lampard wants. On the other, there have been plenty of games where Chelsea has dominated the ball where his headers would have been preferred over Batshuayi’s poaching (and heavy touches).
It will likely not be clear as to why Lampard never really used Giroud even accounting for his speed and what the squad required. Maybe another player has stepped up enough that Chelsea can afford to not only lose Giroud on the pitch (what little that may be), but also behind the scenes.
Or maybe it is just as simple as Giroud wanting to play, just like he did when he wanted out of Arsenal. The striker has the chance to lead the line for France in another major international tournament but he needs game time.
Whatever the reason, Giroud, not unlike Cesc Fabregas before him, has been a fine servant for the club despite his time at Arsenal. He even feels more Chelsea than he ever really did Arsenal. And at the end of the day, that may be all that really matters.