Roma’s sporting director Monchi has said that he would have tried to sign Olivier Giroud had Edin Dzeko joined Chelsea.

There may have been a reality where Olivier Giroud didn’t have to join Chelsea.

The French striker ended up there after Arsenal signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Borussia Dortmund signed Michy Batshuayi.

However, he wasn’t Chelsea’s first choice.

That was Roma’s Edin Dzeko, who opted not to return to England and remained at Roma instead.

Had that move gone ahead, Roma would have been left needing a striker to appease their worried fans.

According to their sporting director Monchi, that striker could have been Giroud.

“I think he (Dzeko) and Chelsea never reached an agreement,” he told Sky Sports Italy (via Gazzetta dello Sport).

“We wanted to sell Emerson, but didn’t want to sell Dzeko as well. Chelsea never reached the amount we asked for.

“Had he left, we would have signed an attacker. Giroud was a possibility. Batshuayi also.”

This scenario would have simplified the Aubameyang deal, though it did all work out in the end.

Many fans would have preferred for Giroud to join a foreign club if he really had to move.

The 31-year-old was reluctant to leave London, though, which made the Chelsea move so appealing to him.

The fact that a number of renowned European clubs were interested in Giroud shows us that he is highly regarded, even if the fans didn’t rate him.