Olivier Giroud Aiming to Fight for His Place in Chelsea's Starting XI Despite Marseille Talks
Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has decided he wants to stay at Chelsea and fight for his place in Maurizio Sarri's starting XI this season, despite reportedly holding talks with French side Marseille this summer.
The 31-year-old Frenchman enjoyed a successful end of the season at Stamford Bridge following his January move from Arsenal in January, scoring a magnificent winning goal in the FA Cup semi final.
The Daily Mail are reporting that, despite reported talks with Marseille, the striker is hoping to stay at Chelsea, despite the club being heavily linked with a £53m move for Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain.
Such a deal would surely send Giroud further down the pecking order at Chelsea - though there is still the possibility that Alvaro Morata will leave the club this summer.
Atletico Madrid were rumoured to be interested in a move for Giroud earlier in the transfer window, but the move supposedly broke down due to the Spanish outfit only being interested in taking the striker on loan.
Chelsea have only made one signing so far this summer, bringing in midfielder Jorginho from Sarri's previous club Napoli. The Blues have also been linked with Borussia Dortmund winger Christian Pulisic and Giroud's former Arsenal teammate Aaron Ramsey.
Giroud scored 105 goals in 253 appearances for Arsenal after joining the Gunners from Montpellier in 2012. He played in all seven of France's matches at the World Cup, leading the line but not scoring a single goal as Les Bleus took home the trophy in Russia.