Olivier Giroud has agreed personal terms with Inter and Chelsea are 'confident' of sealing his departure from Stamford Bridge in the next few days.
Giroud has found his playing time seriously limited this season, principally due to the emergence of Tammy Abraham as the club's first choice striker. The 33-year-old has made just five Premier League appearances, failing to register a goal on any of those occasions.
Back in December, Giroud admitted that it would be 'difficult' for him to stay at the club while he remained such a fringe member of Frank Lampard's squad. The Frenchman has since been linked with a list of clubs as disparate as Newcastle, Rangers and Juventus.
However, Inter appeared to have won the race for his signature in a move that will see Giroud reunite with the manager who brought him to Chelsea back in January 2018, Antonio Conte.
The veteran frontman has already agreed personal terms with the Nerazzurri, with the Blues 'confident' of finalising his departure in the coming days, according to Fabrizio Romano. The World Cup winner is expected to demand a transfer fee of around €5m to €6m, due to the fact that his Stamford Bridge contract expires in the summer.
With Giroud's departure's imminent, Chelsea are likely to delve into the transfer market to bring in a replacement. The Blues desire to sign a player to lessen the goal burden placed on Abraham is well known, with the club repeatedly linked with a move for Moussa Dembélé - despite Lyon's insistence that they do not want to sell.
RB Leipzig's hotshot Timo Werner - who has a €50m release clause - has also been touted for a move to west London but both club and player are thought to be against a mid-season transfer. Chelsea were similarly monitoring Wilfried Zaha, but 90min understands that Lampard does not view the Ivorian as a good fit for the current Blues squad.
Inter's Gabriel Barbosa is another option, and negotiations over Giroud should have provided a platform for discussions.
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Source :
90min
