Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has seemingly put pay to West Ham’s reported hopes of signing Olivier Giroud in January.
There has been plenty of speculation that David Moyes could attempt to land the 34-year-old Frenchman.
However, following Giroud’s match-winning contribution off the bench during Chelsea’s last-gasp win over Rennes in midweek, Lampard told BT Sport he is reluctant to let the striker leave, saying: “Oli will get his minutes because we have a busy schedule, we play every few days.”
Lampard, who started his playing career with the Irons, continued to praise the World Cup winner, as he said: “He’s getting better with age if anything in terms of how he looks after himself. So he offers a lot for us and I keep saying it but the big schedule coming up and the way we play means I will rely on players.”
It has been widely publicised that Moyes is seeking an additional striker when the January window opens, and Giroud – who has featured just eight times for Chelsea across all competitions this term – was seemingly a name at the top of the list.
Although the deal isn’t quite dead in the water, in the coming weeks the striker will almost certainly need to see increased game-time or he will likely push for a move in order to boost his France prospects for Euro 2020 next summer.
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At 34, the signing of Giroud wouldn’t tick many boxes for the Irons, although the proven goalscorer could be a very useful short-term option for Moyes.
However, should the Frenchman see an increase in his game-time and decide to stay at Stamford Bridge, the Hammers could look elsewhere with a longer-term view to bolstering their centre-forward options.
