Inter make late push to sign Giroud with Tottenham & Lazio also interested in Chelsea striker
Inter make late push to sign Giroud with Tottenham & Lazio also interested in Chelsea striker
The Blues will welcome the Nerazzurri’s attempts to strike a deal on deadline day as they look to offload their third-choice forward
Olivier Giroud may well get the move he desires after Inter re-entered the race to sign the Chelsea striker on transfer deadline day.
Antonio Conte’s side have already agreed a financial package to secure Giroud after offering him a two-and-a-half-year deal with an initial salary of €4 million that will drop to €3.5m for the following two seasons.
The issue has been over the price being negotiated between Chelsea and the Italian giants, with this last-minute push potentially a deliberate ploy from the Serie A club to drive the price down.
Giroud has just five months left on his current deal and he is pushing for a move away from Stamford Bridge having made just seven appearances for the Blues this season.
This comes amid calls from France manager Didier Deschamps for him to leave as he looks to keep his European Championship hopes alive.
Inter do, however, face late competition, with Tottenham and Lazio having also come forward to try to sign the World Cup winner.
Spurs, being a Premier League rival, look an unlikely option for Giroud, despite the opportunity to remain in London being of appeal to the 33-year-old.
Lazio sporting director Igli Tare, meanwhile, has travelled to London to see if he can unlock the deal despite their status as rank outsiders in the hunt for the former Arsenal forward.
Newcastle United have also had an offer turned down and Steve Bruce confirmed that “we enquired and it was not possible” ahead of his side’s clash with Norwich City.
Chelsea themselves are working to sign a new striker before the window closes although their efforts to bring in Napoli star Dries Mertens have not progressed since they first opened talks a few days ago.
Mertens is reluctant to leave Italy while chasing the all-time goalscoring record at the Stadio San Paolo and Napoli are keen to hold onto the Belgian despite him having just five months left on his current deal.
Before trying to sign Mertens, the Blues also attempted to bring in Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani but he now looks set to stay with the Ligue 1 champions.
Frank Lampard faced disappointment on Thursday night as news filtered through that Tariq Lamptey opted to leave Chelsea for Brighton, with only five months left on his contract.
Ethan Ampadu, meanwhile, is attracting a host of offers to hijack his RB Leipzig loan move, with clubs including Bristol City spotting an opportunity to get him away from the Bundesliga side.
