The transfer market tends to go crazy in January so it’s impossible to tell what’s good value anymore. Essentially it just comes down to what a club is willing to pay, but the selling club needs some leverage in the negotiations to demand a decent fee.
Unfortunately for Chelsea they were already in a weak position when it came to selling Oliver Giroud this month, but things have just got a bit worse.
A report from The Guardian via The Metro has suggested that Olivier Giroud has already agreed to join Inter Milan in the Summer. He’s out of contract so he’s able to agree a pre-contract agreement with European teams right now, so it seems clear that he plans to leave.
READ MORE: Video: Chelsea stars past and present love John Terry’s throwback Instagram post involving Diego Costa
When you also consider that he’s 33 and only has 191 minutes of Premier League action under his belt this season, it’s pretty obvious that Chelsea don’t have any long or short term need for him.
You would think that it would make sense for everyone to let him go now. Giroud could do with some minutes to build up his fitness for Euro 2020, Inter Milan would get their player now and Chelsea could get his wages off the books and use that on a more productive player.
Despite that, The Metro report suggests the clubs are still apart on their valuations. Chelsea want €10m to let him go now, While Inter are only prepared to pay €4m.
There’s no sign of a breakthrough at this point and it’s not clear which side is more likely to give in, but it does look like Chelsea should just get what they can and move on.