Chelsea go from “player power” to “empower player” with Olivier Giroud deal

Player power normally carries a negative connotation at Chelsea. But by extending Olivier Giroud under the current circumstances, the Blues put Giroud back in control.

These are uncertain times. It has only been a few weeks without football, but it already feels like a year. Unfortunately, time waits for no one. Not even for elite footballers, many of whom are now facing the prospect of their playing contracts running out in the middle of a season that may or may not resume.

No one has a clue what the transfer market will look like once the dust settles. But it is almost certain that transfer budgets will be nowhere near what they were pre-COVID. Clubs will have less money to spend and, just like we have been doing, they will also be stocking up only on the bare necessities. Transfer plans will be torn up and rewritten, priorities re-evaluated and budgets trimmed. All of this makes very grim reading if you are Olivier Giroud.

But fear not, trusty go-kart. If reports are to be believed, Chelsea may have just secured Giroud’s short term future. Triggering a one-year contract extension is usually a way for clubs to make sure their player does not leave on a Bosman transfer, thereby protecting the value of their asset. But in this case, it is the other way around.

Olivier Giroud had made his mind up about leaving Chelsea, where he was barely getting any playing time, in the winter transfer window. At that point, the French World Cup winner had the choice of moving to Inter Milan, Lazio or any other club looking for a decent striker on the cheap.

Unfortunately for him, Chelsea could not secure a replacement and, thus, Giroud had to stay put.

Chelsea and Giroud kissed and made up, and the player waltzed his way back into the first team squad in style. All was well in west London. Giroud would help his current club out for another six months and have his pick from a long list of suitors when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Or so he thought. With the pandemic destroying everything in its path and with no end in sight, Giroud would be left without a club on July 1. Even if things get back to normal in a few months and the transfer window opens, clubs who were interested in Giroud before might decide to focus their energies and their resources elsewhere.

Suddenly, the landscape has changed. Instead of being wooed by some of the biggest names in Europe, the Frenchman could have little choice but to pick the best out of a bad bunch. Awful.

But here come Chelsea, with a one-year contract extension to make sure Giroud does not have to go dumpster diving for his next date.

Some may say this is cynical and smacks of opportunism. But really, it isn’t. Quite the opposite, in fact.

By triggering an extension, Chelsea have effectively handed the power of choice back to Giroud. It would be very surprising if Giroud spends another season in blue. But if he wants to, he can choose to do so. If he wants to leave, Chelsea will gladly let him go for a minimal fee or, if the buyer asks nicely, for free.

If Giroud doesn’t like the look of the teams that come in for him in the summer (or whenever the next transfer window opens), he can simply bide his time at Chelsea for a few more months, and try again in the next window.

This gives Olivier Giroud the short term security needed to go for his longer term objectives, namely, playing for a team not named Chelsea. You won’t find any employer who would do that – pay you while you sit on the sidelines and look for a new job.

It makes Chelsea an even more attractive proposition for players – a club that looks after its own even when it doesn’t make a lot of sense for them to do so.

If that doesn’t get Jadon Sancho, Timo Werner and every other flavor of the month player pushing their agents to arrange a transfer to Chelsea, nothing will.