Would Chelsea be the right move for Olivier Giroud?

It seems the Premier League rumour mill is in full flow at the minute. With just hours left until the winter transfer window shuts, there is an interesting situation involving Chelsea, Dortmund and Arsenal, a game of Mexican standoff from the sounds of it.

The situation involves Arsenal signing Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a deal potentially worth £60m. The two clubs are reported to have agreed on a fee. However, there is a major snag in the fact that Dortmund wants to sign a replacement before selling the striker.

Players reportedly on their radar are Arsenal Olivier Giroud, Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi and Koln’s Anthony Modeste, who currently on loan to a Chinese Super League team.

The problem for BVB is that Chelsea will not sanction a deal for Batshuayi, until they find a replacement, reportedly Giroud. However, Arsenal will not sell Giroud until they sign Aubameyang. That means that all three clubs may not get what they want before tomorrow night’s transfer deadline.

Giroud to Chelsea interests me

The deal that is most interesting to me out of the three for the Premier League clubs is Olivier Giroud potentially joining one of Arsenal’s rivals. We all know that Aubameyang is a top class striker and know about his prolific record at Dortmund.

However, what interests me is where Giroud fits into Antonio Conte’s plans at Chelsea. The Blues have made no secret of their attempts to sign a striker, with the likes of Andy Carroll and Peter Crouch mooted as potential winter signings.

Signing Giroud would be a step up from signing both Crouch and Carroll. The 31-year-old is very much still in his prime.

A move to Chelsea may not be the right one

With the World Cup less than six months away, Giroud is understandably desperate to play regular first-team football. He has been a bit part player at Arsenal in the last season and a half. The France international is by no means a poor player.

A century of goals for the Gunners tells you he knows how to find the net. The problem is he is not a top-level striker neither, he is somewhere in between. To be fair Arsenal are not exactly top level, but that is a discussion for another day.

Chelsea are looking for a target man to provide them with a Plan B when Plan A Alvaro Morata is having an off-day. That is fine, but how much football is Plan B going to have in this scenario. Chelsea have struggled for goals at times in recent weeks. However, in Eden Hazard and Morata have players who contribute a lot of goals to the team.

From the inside looking in, it seems Olivier Giroud would be swapping the bench of one London club for another. At his age and with a World Cup coming up that seems like a rather strange move.

Chelsea favourites to sign Giroud this month

Chelsea are currently favourites to sign Giroud, with the French striker odds of 5/18 to be a Blues player by the end of the transfer window. I do believe he would be a good signing for Chelsea if reports of a fee of £15million are correct.

He is a decent finisher and will also provide a good Plan B for the Blues attack when Morata is misfiring, which recently has been most games. Apart from a pay potential pay rise, I am not sure what is in it for the striker, though.

Moving to Chelsea, playing wise he will be no better off and the move could jeopardise the striker’s chances of being the first choice striker for France at the World Cup in Russia.

Would Chelsea be the right move for Olivier Giroud?