Giroud’s situation at Chelsea cannot last, warns French coach Deschamps

Didier Deschamps could be planning his life after Olivier Giroud, even if he really doesn’t want to.

Speaking after France’s 1-0 win over Portugal thanks to a goal from N’Golo Kanté, Deschamps spoke about how Giroud needs to change his current situation at Chelsea if the forward has aspirations to remain part of France’s squad. , much less being a starter in Les Bleus. as we start heading towards Euro 2020 in the summer.

“I make the decisions that seem best to me for the French team. With Anthony [Martial] that he is a good player, it allows us to have a little more depth.

“Compared to Olivier, he has to be affected. First of all with the situation you have in [Chelsea], knowing that you have a big body and that you need rhythm, it is difficult. That is not why I want to lose him, it is complicated, we will talk, but obviously he has every interest that it does not last, for him, to remain competitive, but we must not forget what he did with us and what he is still capable of doing.

“Anthony has a different profile but one that offers options. Anthony, today, is more satisfied and in better physical and psychological condition, obviously ”.

-Didier Deschamps; source: Metro

Giroud has just 154 minutes in all competitions in the first two months of the season, though that’s not surprising given Chelsea’s abundance of riches at the forward spot. And although at the end of last season the 34-year-old had managed to claim the starting job ahead of the much younger Tammy Abraham, this season is proving to be a different story.

The arrival of Timo Werner was always going to take every club forwards down one spot, but Abraham’s much improved liaison game (5 assists to his name already, compared to 6 he had all of last year) has made Giroud enter ownership. XI much more difficult.

Giroud’s historical impact on Chelsea and for France is not in doubt. After all, he is France’s second all-time top scorer at 42, trailing only Thierry Henry (51) and scoring almost at the same pace (0.4 / game). And he has also scored many crucial goals for Chelsea, be it his double from the bench after Chelsea lost 2-0 to Southampton or his streak of 5 goals in 6 games at the end of last season, which helped Chelsea to qualify for the Champions League.

As things stand, however, Giroud won’t get the consistent streak of starts he enjoyed in the second half of last season.

Therefore, it is one of Giroud’s best interests to leave Chelsea in January.

The situation is practically the same as last season, although it is unlikely that it will happen in the same way again; after all, we have more (good) options as a forward. This time, Giroud could walk away, depriving us of his experience and leadership and potentially crucial goals. That wouldn’t be ideal, but neither would it be to force him to stay against his will.