Olivier Giroud mulling Chelsea future as Inter Milan linked with transfer move

Olivier Giroud is prepared to consider interest from other clubs should his struggles for minutes continue at Chelsea, a source has told CBS Sports.

Giroud has started just one game under Frank Lampard this season — an EFL Cup tie against Tottenham — and across all competitions has played just 151 minutes of football since the start of the campaign. So far that has not cost the 34-year-old his place in Didier Deschamps’ France squad, but if he wants to play a central role for Les Bleus in Euro 2021 he may need to be playing on a more regular basis.

Inter Milan could revive their interest in Giroud, who they tried to sign earlier this year as an alternative option to Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, according to a report from Italian publication Tuttosport on Friday.

Though Giroud would be third in the pecking order at the San Siro just as he is at Stamford Bridge, his chances of featuring greatly would be enhanced by Antonio Conte’s preference for naming two center forwards in his side. Lampard has generally used one center forward during his time in the Stamford Bridge dugout.

For a time that first choice forward was Giroud, who responded to the disappointment of missing out on a midseason move by establishing himself as a crucial player for Frank Lampard. Having played just five of Chelsea’s first 25 league games, the veteran target man featured in every subsequent match, scoring eight goals to help the Blues secure a top four finish.

However, the addition of Timo Werner for $59 million as well as Chelsea’s commitment to developing Tammy Abraham, 23, has meant opportunities have been hard to come by for Giroud, even as he has impressed Lampard with his work ethic at the Cobham training ground.

“He has given a typically great response to train as well as possible and support the group,” Lampard said. “He is amazing around the group and that is just a fact with Oli and maybe not a fact with people all around the team. I can’t speak highly enough of him on that side.

“It is part of my job I don’t like with good players, top people who are around the group that don’t always play. But, I have those issues, Tammy Abraham started at least half of the games last season and he was one of the top scorers in the Premier League. When Oli came in, he performed very well in restart for us which was a huge factor in us getting into the top four.

“I have difficult questions to answer and selections in the team. I have great professionals and Oli is absolutely showing that.”

Giroud’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season after Chelsea took up the option for a further year of the striker’s services in April.

What impact Giroud’s limited game time might have on his role for France at Euro 2021 remains…