According to Mirror UK’s Darren Lewis, West Ham have reignited their interest in Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud, whose contract with the Blues has under a year left. The Hammers are wanting to make a move for the French International when the transfer window opens in January.
Olivier Giroud hasn’t been his normal goal-scoring self with Chelsea compared to his Arsenal days, but the World Cup winner has been a quality player for Maurizio Sarri’s squad. Giroud has tallied four assists this year, all to goals scored by Eden Hazard. The 32-year old has done an outstanding job with Chelsea, creating chances and freeing up space for the Belgian up front.
Despite his importance to Chelsea, I do believe that he would be an outstanding addition to Manuel Pelligrini’s West Ham side alongside Marko Arnautovic up top.
Why he is a good option for the Hammers
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West Ham showed interest in Giroud before he made the move to Stamford Bridge last season while he was still considering his future with Arsenal. With several other big clubs vying for him, West Ham fell to the bottom of the list of teams who the striker considered playing for.
Arnautovic has been in fine form for West Ham, scoring four times and also registering an assist in seven appearances this year. The Austrian is their go-to guy up front. Andy Carroll is still out with a back injury, and his contract will end next summer. Carroll has had a ton of injuries and hasn’t played for the Hammers since last season. He should be back soon, but West Ham is lacking attacking options without him. Arnautovic is really the only serious threat up there, so this is where Giroud comes in.
Despite the Frenchman not scoring yet this year, he has been very important for Chelsea. He will play that same way with West Ham. He is great in the air, he’s not selfish, and does have the ability to score goals and set them up. Arnautovic is one of the most quality scorers in the Premier League, and with Giroud feeding him, I think the Hammers could be scoring a lot more than they do.
Giroud doesn’t always start with the Blues, splitting time with Alvaro Morata usually. With his form lately, though, he’s been playing a lot more for Maurizio Sarri’s side. If he made the move over to West Ham, however, Giroud would be a mainstay in the starting eleven every week.
If West Ham could somehow put together a move for Giroud, they could probably part ways with Carroll.
The chances of Chelsea actually giving up Giroud are unlikely though, considering they only have Alvaro Morata and 17-year old Callum Hudson-Odoi as other options up front besides Eden Hazard and Willian.
If West Ham could somehow acquire Giroud though, it would definitely be a great addition to the Hammers.