Olivier Giroud did not join Inter in January only because “Chelsea couldn’t find a replacement,” said an agent who worked on the deal. “Antonio Conte could still be decisive” in the battle with Lazio.
The forward confessed to TeleFoot that he felt let down by the failed transfer and had not lost hope of wearing the Nerazzurri jersey, especially with reports in England that he turned down a new contract offer at Stamford Bridge.
Olivier Giroud did not join Inter in January only because “Chelsea couldn’t find a replacement,” said an agent who worked on the deal. “Antonio Conte could still be decisive” in the battle with Lazio.
The forward confessed to TeleFoot that he felt let down by the failed transfer and had not lost hope of wearing the Nerazzurri jersey, especially with reports in England that he turned down a new contract offer at Stamford Bridge.
“The only reason the deal with Inter didn’t go through was because Chelsea couldn’t find a replacement with his characteristics,” representative Luca Antonini – who worked as an intermediary in the January negotiations – told Calciomercato.com.
Lazio had also pursued Giroud in January and are eager to swoop for the 33-year-old as a free agent in June, but Antonini believes Inter still have the upper hand.
“We cannot know what the future holds, especially as with the coronavirus lockdown, nobody is talking about the transfer market or starting negotiations.
“In any case, I say that Conte can still be decisive in the final choice. He already worked with Giroud at Chelsea and they had a good rapport. Giroud has shown himself to be an exemplary professional, because despite not playing for the first six months, he never said anything bad about the club or manager.
“When he was finally called into action, he scored three goals. Conte knows he can bring a player of great experience to improve an already-strong Inter squad.”