Ask the audience: How Chelsea can fit Olivier Giroud in with new signings

Olivier Giroud has been on fine form this season, but how can Chelsea fit him in next season with the signings of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech?

When Timo Werner signed for Chelsea, the first question was what it would mean for Tammy Abraham. Initially, it seemed as though he would play alongside the English striker, but Oliver Giroud and Christian Pulisic’s recent form, coupled with Abraham’s form going missing, has made it look far more like a like for like replacement.

Beyond that, Hakim Ziyech has also signed for Chelsea to offer the Blues some much needed creativity. He can play in several positions but it is most likely that he plays higher on the “wing”.

But it is hard to shake Giroud’s excellent form and ability to improve everyone around him. So some are asking, how can he fit in with Werner and Ziyech? And how can Werner and Ziyech benefit from such an approach?

Giroud’s ability to improve everyone around him is well known at this point. Pulisic has followed in Eden Hazard’s footsteps to prove that particular facet of play. Even when Giroud is not scoring, he is more than capable of opening up space for his teammates or shielding their runs. It is a trait Tammy Abraham desperately needs to develop quickly and one Werner does not possess either (though he makes up for it in other ways).

Keeping Giroud as a starter, even as he ages, would makes sense next season if his current form continues. Frank Lampard will have to adjust some things around him to make it work, but he already had to do some of that to make it work this season.

Option one is to keep the 4-3-3 and put Werner and Ziyech either side of Giroud. That would leave Werner as an inside forward and Ziyech as a wide play maker, but it comes at the expense of Pulisic as a starter.

A potential workaround to that would be a 4-2-3-1 with either Ziyech or Pulisic as the “10” and the other wide. Pulisic as the 10 would see lots of rotation with Werner, but it could make Chelsea very left side oriented which would make the direction of attack obvious. Pulisic wide can work, but it would also go away from all the development he has done this season on cutting in to his strong foot.

That leaves a third option in an old fashioned 4-4-2. At times this season, it has already seemed as though Lampard’s tactics have operated as a 4-4-2, albeit a very fluid one. With Werner and Giroud up top, Ziyech and Pulisic could take the roles of inverted wingers either side of them. The main issue with this idea is that it would clamp down on midfield options. A bottle neck would be created for N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley, Billy Gilmour, and Jorginho provided all return next season.

Perhaps most importantly is that Lampard has the option to do this at all next season. He may not run with Giroud and another striker full time, but he has that card in his deck if need be. It can open up many creative possibilities for Chelsea in attack that they have lacked this season. It is worth a consideration at the very least.