The France striker is determined to contribute to the Blues’ cause as far as possible leading up to the summer’s European Championships.
Olivier Giroud says he wants to”give everything” into Chelsea and earn a regular place in Frank Lampard’s lineup between now and the end of the season, in spite of the fact he’s entered the last five months of his existing contract.
Giroud is due to be a free agent this summer, and hasn’t yet been offered the opportunity to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge.
The 33-year-old has had to be satisfied with a bit-part function for the Blues in 2019-20, after falling behind Tammy Abraham and Michy Batshuayi in the pecking order.
Italian giants Inter were heavily connected with Giroud through the January transfer window, with Lampard opening admitting that the team were willing to sanction his death if”all the bases” were covered.
The veteran striker ended up staying put, but Inter are expected to revive their attention later in the year, and Lazio have allegedly already tabled a contract deal in an attempt to win the race for his signature.
However, Giroud insists he remains”100 percent focused” on his responsibilities at Chelsea at the moment, as he targets a location in Didier Deschamps’ France squad for Euro 2020.
“I am a Chelsea player so now I want to proceed and look ahead,” Giroud told the club’s official site . “I wish to give everything for the team and it is a personal goal for me to play as much as I can to play with the Euros with my nation.
“Right now, I am 100% focused on Chelsea’s goals and I wish to keep fighting to return on to the group sheet and the scoresheet. Each and every game is a huge opportunity for me to demonstrate my desire to do that.”
Giroud came on as a substitute during Chelsea’s clash with Manchester United on Monday, and saw that a goal ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
The Frenchman was pleased to be back on the pitch for the first time since November, but frustrated with the Blues’ lapses of concentration at the back through a damaging 2-0 defeat at the Bridge.
“After two weeks not playing, I felt great on the pitch with a great deal of energy and determination,” Giroud stated. “I scored a wonderful goal from a wonderful cross and I just tried to stay behind [Harry] Maguire but I was half a foot offside.
“It is very frustrating because it could have changed the game but obviously we made two errors on two goals and we will need to improve on that.”
Chelsea remained fourth in the top-flight standings regardless of the outcome, but Tottenham are simply a single point behind, with United now two farther back in seventh.
Lampard’s men are expected to come up against Spurs on Saturday, with Giroud calling his team-mates to”improve on these little margins” to be able to secure the last Champions League place come May.
“We simply have to improve on the tiny details because that is where you can win or lose huge games,” he added. “Now we will need to step up and improve on these little margins – they are huge at the maximum level.
“It was a challenging result so we will need to consider it because it’s another big game for us on Saturday against Tottenham.”
