Chelsea have had an up and down season under Frank Lampard with much to admire and plenty for their former midfielder still to work on.
One of their attacking players who has had something of a renaissance in the last few games is Olivier Giroud, but the Frenchman has admitted that he wanted out of Stamford Bridge in January.
An interview with Telefoot, reported by L’Equipe and cited by AS, noted that Giroud had set his sights on a move to Italy.
“I saw myself elsewhere after experiencing six complicated months. I did everything to leave – it’s true,” he said.
“Inter was the priority, and there was also contact with Lazio and Tottenham. But circumstances meant that Chelsea blocked it. It was not my choice.”
Though he hasn’t had much of a look in across the season in Lampard’s new-look and more youthful Chelsea side, the Frenchman has come up with the goods over recent weeks.
A goal and man-of-the-match performance against Tottenham will surely have done his confidence no end of good, and another in the 4-0 drubbing of Everton on Sunday has given his manager some food for thought.
Whether Giroud remains in situ for the remainder of the season only Lampard will know, but the striker has done his chances of more minutes no harm at all.