Crystal Palace and West Ham United would be tempted to sign Olivier Giroud with the Premier League veteran expected to leave Chelsea in the summer transfer window, as reported by Calciomercato.
Giroud may have found opportunities a little easier than the England international during the past few months – but only just.
The 34-year-old hasn’t started a Premier League game since the 0-0 draw with Manchester United in February and was restricted to eight minutes during the FA Cup final defeat to Leicester City.
So, with Giroud’s £110,000-a-week contract expiring in July, an extension seems unlikely.
Chelsea probably won’t offer him a new deal and, even if they did, don’t expect Giroud to sign it.
The 2018 World Cup winner won’t be short of offers, even in his mid-30s, however, with claims coming out of Italy suggesting West Ham and Crystal Palace admire a technically gifted target man with 87 Premier League goals on his CV.
“Who knows (if I’ll sign Giroud)?” Hammers boss David Moyes told Sky during his first spell at the London Stadium in 2017.
“I think Olivier Giroud is a talented footballer and has a record of scoring goals.”
The second-highest goalscorer in the history of the French national team, Giroud is hardly on the scrapheap. Far from it.
Only a few weeks ago, the former Arsenal ace scored one of the greatest Champions League goals to knock Atletico Madrid out of the tournament.
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