Giroud admits he ‘did everything’ he could to leave Chelsea in January | OneFootball

Olivier Giroud admits he ‘did everything’ he could to leave Chelsea during the January transfer window after finding himself on the sidelines at Stamford Bridge.

The France international has struggled to establish himself as an automatic starter since joining the west London side from Arsenal two years ago, and made just two Premier League starts over the first half of the season to increase speculation over a January exit.

Giroud has since regained favour under Frank Lampard and has started each of Chelsea‘s previous three league fixtures, though the 33-year-old has revealed he was desperate to leave in search of regular first-team football during the winter window.

Inter Milan and Tottenham were amongst the clubs reportedly interested in signing the forward, and Giroud admits he did all he could to force a move only to see Chelsea block his departure.

“To be honest, I saw myself playing elsewhere,” he told Telefoot. “I had six tough months, which is why I wanted a change of scene to get back to playing and enjoying myself on the pitch, so I tried to leave in January.

“I did everything I could, but Chelsea didn’t want to let me leave because the condition in place was that they had to bring in a replacement. On January 31, I still hoped that I would leave. I was very disappointed, but I’d say that by the following morning, I’d put that behind me.”

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