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Olivier Giroud had a fine outing on Saturday in his first preseason match action of the summer, scoring a brace in Chelsea’s 4-0 win over St Pats to close out the first week of training camp. It was a promising sign for team that needs to replace the goalscoring (and goal-creating) output of a certain Eden Hazard.
While Michy Batshuayi or Tammy Abaraham may fit new head coach Frank Lampard’s requirement of a fast and relentless high-press better, Giroud has shown time and again that he does not shy away from competition. More often than not, he ends up regaining a starting spot, not necessarily due to his goal scoring exploits but his all round game that makes everyone around him and thus the team, better.
The decision will of course come down to Lampard, who’s been getting plenty of praise so far from his players. He’s impressed Giroud as well.
“I like his energy and desire to always improve and win. We’ve been training very hard with high intensity. I think he [Lampard] is the right person. He is basically a Chelsea legend.
”We all believe in his quality to improve the team and with the transfer ban it’s a good opportunity for the young players to show what they can do. Now we’re excited to play the first league game.”
-Olivier Giroud; source: BBC
A tough season lies ahead with Chelsea having to prepare a squad without the luxury of a transfer window but as Giroud says, there is plenty of belief still in the squad. Hopefully that will translate to plenty of goals and wins once the season starts as well.