Chelsea have reportedly turned their nose up at Arsenal’s asking price for Olivier Giroud, which suddenly puts them in a position of power over the Gunners… or does it?
According to BBC Sport, Dortmund are yet to sanction Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s move to Arsenal as they’ve still not found a replacement. And, with the Gunners allegedly demanding £30m-£35m from Chelsea for Giroud, we could be in trouble.
Aubameyang has been Dortmund’s top Bundesliga goalscorer since 2014/15, and is their third most prolific striker of all time, so you can understand their desire to find someone to fill his shoes before he leaves.
It was first reported that Dortmund would take Giroud as part of a swap deal. The France international is struggling for game time in north London so it was a win-win situation for both clubs.
Merry-go-round: Giroud was lined up to replace Aubameyang at Dortmund then got offer from Chelsea & was keen, so Dortmund turned to Batshuayi. But Chelsea baulked at Giroud fee so discussed Batshuayi/Llorente swap with Spurs, which nobody agreed on. Deadlock #AFC #BVB #CFC THFC pic.twitter.com/HA6ymZ6IiN
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) January 29, 2018
However, Chelsea, who are also in need of a forward, made a late approach for the 31-year-old. Antonio Conte’s side have previously been linked with Andy Carroll and Peter Crouch this month so Giroud would be a vast improvement.
Meanwhile, Dortmund would take Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi on loan.
Giroud wants to stay in London, so he would much rather sign for Chelsea. The Blues are said to have turned their attention to Tottenham striker Fernando Llorente, however, after Arsenal demanded £30m-£35m for their 31-year-old.
It would be pretty wise of Chelsea to pull the plug on Giroud move now, knowing that could potentially stop the Aubameyang deal. Amazing from scrambling around for the likes of Crouch & Carroll, they suddenly find themselves in a position of strength over Arsenal.
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) January 30, 2018
If Chelsea don’t sign a forward, they’ll most likely keep Batshuayi, which means Dortmund won’t have their Aubameyang replacement and might not sanction his move to Arsenal.
Somehow, Chelsea are left holding all the cards and could scupper Arsenal’s move for the Gabon international… if you put aside the fact that they really need a striker.
Why choose to prevent the Gunners from signing a striker when they have more pressing matters at hand, like signing one of their own?
‘Let’s not buy that forward we desperately need so we screw Arsenal’ seems like a perfectly viable strategy if you’re a three-year-old running a football club…