There are a plethora of players in the Premier League this summer who are going to be out of contract, courtesy of which, there are several clubs in Europe who are circling around to secure some of these free agents.
Olivier Giroud is one such player whose contract will be up in 2 months and is free to sign a pre-contract deal with his next club. While there have been no talks of a contract extension with Chelsea, several clubs are in talks with the French forward, including Fenerbahçe.
Giroud is on top of the list of Fenerbahçe manager, Emre Belözoglu’s transfer priorities this summer, while the striker has also talked to his former Arsenal team, Mesut Ozil about a move to Turkey and it feels like Ozil could convince the Frenchman to join him there.
Ozil and Giroud to be reunited?
There have often been such instances when players are on the verge of moves to certain clubs, they ask the opinion of their former teammates or their national teammates who might also be at present at those clubs. It happened last summer when Antonio Rudiger played a huge role in convincing the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz about the project at Chelsea and how the league will only help them grow as footballers.
Mesut Ozil is on the verge of doing something similar with Olivier Giroud as he knows the Frenchman from their time together at Arsenal. In fact, Ozil registered his highest assist tally in the Premier League with the Frenchman ahead of him, who would finish off most chances that Ozil would provide him with.
In the 2015-16 season, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud combined for 9 Premier League goals which were more than any other duo in the competition that season.
Although the Frenchman has mostly played off the bench this season, he has still managed to rack up 27 appearances in all competitions while also playing a huge role in Chelsea’s Champions League campaign with important goals in the Round of 16 as well as 4 goals against Sevilla in the group stage.
With Ozil already at Fenerbahçe, Giroud’s qualities as a forward will not go wasted. The Frenchman’s quality in the air and the penalty box is far too underrated while Giroud can also be used as a point man and play in a two-striker role with players like Enner Valencia and Pappis Cisse being able runners behind the opposition defence.
While neither of Giroud or Ozil have the pace as they did 3 or 4 seasons ago, they are much smarter now and have evolved their games over time. Mesut Ozil still has the eye of a needle while Olivier Giroud can still time his runs effectively and finish off most chances that come his way.
While Chelsea would not have wanted the striker to leave on a free, they have utilised the Frenchman to his full potential and it might be time to let Giroud start a new chapter of his life, quite possibly alongside Mesut Ozil at Fenerbahçe.
