West Ham United and Newcastle United have received a boost in their reported pursuit of Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic
The Hammers failed to deliver the big name, marquee striker signing co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold promised fans last summer.
Slaven Bilic‘s side have suffered as a result with an over reliance on injury-prone Andy Carroll who has once again spent as much time in the treatment room as he has on the pitch this season.
Strikers – and a proven Premier League goalscorer – will be top of West Ham’s priority list this summer.
Rafa Benitez will also be seeking proven firepower after the Magpies’ return to the top flight after a season in the Championship.
Newcastle may have blasted away most of the sides in the second division, but Benitez knows better than anyone that more quality is a necessity in the Premier League.
Both clubs have been linked with experienced Gunners forward Olivier Giroud after the experienced star spoke out about his lack of game time under Arsene Wenger in an interview with Canal Plus.
Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud
Since then a return to France with Marseille has been mooted by the likes of Sky Sports which looked to have put paid to interest from the Hammers and Benitez.
But there is new hope for both clubs after Giroud’s agent Michael Manuello discussed his client’s future in an interview with French media outlet Foot Mercato.
“Nothing is true, there was talk that Olivier was in contact with (Marseille manager) Rudi Garcia,” Manuello told Foot Mercato.
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez
“I said that that was false. There is no contact between Marseille and us. At this point, there is no contact.
“Olivier wants to help his team qualify for the Champions League. When we know exactly what Arsène Wenger is doing, we will ask ourselves questions. We will think about what is possible and what is not possible.”
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