Chelsea have reportedly held preliminary discussions with Olivier Giroud over signing a new contract, with his current deal set to expire this summer.
The 33-year-old has been limited to just 13 appearances so far this season, as he has been forced to play back-up to Tammy Abraham who has been the preferred option up top for Frank Lampard.
With his contract set to run down at the end of the campaign, it appeared at one point as though it was merely inevitable that Giroud would move on given his lack of playing time.
However, having stepped in for Abraham due to his injury blow in the games which preceded the coronavirus crisis, Giroud showed his worth with two goals in three Premier League starts to help get Chelsea back on track in the battle to claim a top-four finish.
From the Daily Mail reporting in January on the French stalwart closing in on a move to Inter, to the Sun noting last month that Giroud now wanted to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge, it had already been quite a turnaround in a matter of weeks.
Now, Football London report that preliminary discussions have already been held over a new contract, and so it remains to be seen if the two parties can reach an agreement after the coronavirus lockdown comes to an end.
It’s noted though that Chelsea may start with just a one-year offer, and at 33 and given this could be his last major contract at the top level, Giroud may well be looking for something a little more long term and that could yet prove to be an important obstacle in negotiations.
With that in mind, the situation is seemingly far from sorted, but what is now perhaps a little clearer as far as Giroud is concerned is that Chelsea are open to extending his stay and so time will tell if they can agree on a compromise.