According to a recent exclusive report by TalkSPORT, Olivier Giroud has reassured his commitment towards the cause at Stamford Bridge, and went on to claim that he is ‘one hundred percent focused on Chelsea’. The World Cup winner featured against Manchester United last week. This was his first appearance in the league since the Premier League game against West Ham United all the way back at the end of December.
Despite the alarming lack of playing time, the former Arsenal man went on to commit his short-term future to Chelsea. The forward effectively promised to give his all until the end of the season, irrespective of the circumstances he finds himself in. The Frenchman highlighted representing his country at the Euro 2020 as the next target but said that he would keep fighting to get on the scoresheet as much as possible for Chelsea.
Why Lampard Hasn’t Needed To Use Giroud Until This Point?
The Blues’ campaign began in terrible fashion against Manchester United, but there’s no denying that they’ve come a long way since that fixture. Tammy Abraham is Chelsea’s leading scorer this season, and it’s safe to say that his dip in form over recent months have cost the London side dearly.
With that said though, it must be considered that the Englishman is still only settling into life in the Premier League and that he still has the best years of his career ahead.
The amount of pressure that has been placed on the 22-year-old’s shoulders this season was always going to weigh him down eventually. The only surprise was the fact that he actually sustained good momentum until around the start of December. Also, the Blues’ fixture list from the first half of the season was a lot more forgiving than this second split, meaning that the amount of football he had to play was limited to an extent as well.
Why Giroud Could Have An Important Part To Play In The Coming Months?
Before the start of the campaign, it would’ve been controversial to say that Chelsea will be in the top four in February, but as it turned out, Lampard managed to achieve what many thought would be impossible with such a young squad. They now face a Champions League clash against Bayern Munich in the coming weeks, and even have League and FA Cup fixtures to worry about as well.
In the absence of the prolific Abraham, Michy Batshuayi has struggled to maintain any kind of form. The Belgian’s most recent display against United further highlighted the need for Giroud to be brought back into the side. While some might argue that the Frenchman’s pragmatic attacking style wouldn’t suit Chelsea, the truth is that even at 33, the World Cup winner still has a lot more to offer than Batshuayi. His disallowed goal against United was an excellent example of the veteran’s striker’s quality in the final third, and it would be ridiculous on Lampard’s part to not utilise him in the coming weeks.
