Barcelona will have to pay £17 million to land Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud during the January window, as the Frenchman pushes for a move.
According to Don Balon, Giroud has grown frustrated by his lack of playing time at Stamford Bridge recently and he is thusly hoping for a transfer this month.
Don Balon reports that Barcelona are interested in securing his services but they will have to meet Chelsea’s £17 million asking price or risk missing out on the deal completely.
Another issue which may hold up Giroud’s departure is the future of Alvaro Morata, who has also been tipped to leave Chelsea and join Atletico Madrid.
The Blues cannot afford to lose both strikers and at the moment Morata looks the more likely to leave, as negotiations with Atletico approach their latter stages.
Sky Sports states that AC Milan’s Gonzalo Higuain is still expected to join Chelsea before the transfer window closes and if the club are also able to keep hold of Giroud their prospects going forward will look much brighter than before.
Morata has been the biggest underperformer for Maurizio Sarri’s men this term, often anonymous in matches and guilty of missing clear cut chances on a consistent basis.
Giroud has been similarly ineffective in front of goal, but he offers Chelsea so much more in their build-up play, with his physical style and aerial prowess which helps the team progress in the final third.
At Barcelona, the World Cup-winning centre-forward would again play second fiddle to Luis Suarez in the attack, which makes it a strange move for him to contemplate at this stage of his career.
Giroud still has a lot to offer Chelsea and they would be well advised to keep hold of him heading into a crucial period of the season, regardless of whether or not Higuain arrives at Stamford Bridge in the coming days.
