Olivier Giroud has admitted he could leave Chelsea in January in search of first-team football.
Giroud was strongly linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge last season with the Blues surprisingly triggering a one-year extension in his contract in May.
After struggling for football for some time under Frank Lampard, the Frenchman went on to feature heavily during the latter stages of the 2019/2020 campaign. He played a part in each of Chelsea's 13 Premier League after the restart, scoring eight goals to help his side secure a top-four finish.
Despite this, Giroud has found minutes hard to come by since the arrival of Timo Werner in the summer, with his agent describing his treatment as 'unfair'. The striker has been restricted to seven appearances - all of which have come from the bench.
In a recent interview, the 34-year-old admitted that he may be forced to leave Chelsea in January in order to ensure he is selected in France's squad for the Euros in the summer.
"I thought at the start of the season that I could still help the team (Chelsea) but my playing time is reduced a lot," he told L'Equipe recently.
"It's worrying because I felt that I still had a role to play in this team, especially after having had a good end of the season and having contributed to qualification in the Champions League.
"I am lucid about my situation. I know what it is, we have discussed it again. I will have to make a decision in January."
It remains to be seen whether Giroud's predicament will actually affect his selection for France, which it hasn't to this point with the big striker still featuring prominently for Didier Deschamps' side in recent months. However, the national team boss did say recently that Giroud needs more minutes ahead of the rescheduled Euro 2020.
Lazio came close to signing Giroud on a free transfer in the spring but in most recent times several other clubs have been linked with France's second all-time record goalscorer. Ex-Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is said to want to bring him to Inter while West Ham and Napoli are also interested.
Source : 90min