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Chelsea boss Frank Lampard revealed that he hopes for star striker Olivier Giroud to remain at the club amidst talk of a potential move away.
The former Arsenal frontman has fallen down the pecking order at the club since the arrival of RB Leipzig and Germany star Timo Werner in the summer. Werner's impressive form the get-go has seen him become a pivotal member of Chelsea's attack, and even when he's been used as an inside forward drifting in from the left, Tammy Abraham appears to be the man to take up the central role.
This has lead to Giroud accumulating just 36 minutes of league football for Chelsea across four substitute appearances, which in turn could lead him to push for an exit in the winter. However, the Chelsea manager has expressed his wish for him to stay.
Lampard hopes for Giroud stay ahead of Chelsea's 'brutal' schedule
Speaking on the future of his French star Giroud, Lampard remarked;
"I do have plans to have Oli [in a] very important [place] in our squad. He was a big member of our squad last year. I think he played a lot of games and made a lot of starts for us last year."
"When you look at his Chelsea career in terms of league starts, I think he played a relative amount. He will always want to play more. He is a huge member of the squad for me and I know he'll be important for us going forward so I want Oli to be here and to stay because of the way he is playing."
Lampard reiterated that he believes Giroud to be an integral member of the squad, saying,
"I have a very good relationship with Oli and if ever he felt that it was going to go a different way, I would happily have that conversation with him but I want him to stay here and we will be very open both ways if that ever changed but at the minute he is very important to me."
The manager cited Chelsea's 'brutal' upcoming schedule in the winter to be one of the reasons why he wants the 34-year-old to remain at the club, saying that he will get a run of games to play. He continued,
"I've just looked at the schedule through December and it is brutal. We are doing the job that we love and we want to play regularly but some of the games, particularly around Christmas, at the moment, I hope it changes."
The Chelsea star's agent, Michael Manuello, recently hinted at a move away from the club and said that he could potentially look for a transfer if the situation does not 'evolve'. With the UEFA Euros on the horizon, Giroud needs minutes to ensure his place at the tip of France's attack. Lampard addressed Manuello's quotes on the Chelsea forward, saying,
"I saw Oli's agent's quotes and I thought nothing of them in a bad way because its normal. I know Oli very well, we have an open conversation. He wants to play. When he doesn't play, he is an incredible support for the other players, he trains brilliantly no matter what and we have grown up conversations like we did last January."
"So in January we will cross that bridge when it comes but my first thought always has to be the strength of our squad. I've just mentioned the schedule in December there and I'll be using or relying on top players and both of those [Giroud and Tammy Abraham] as I see it, are top strikers for us."
Lampard added on the Chelsea striker,
"We'll have to see how that one goes and I'll always be honest with Oli, But I still think he's got a big contribution for us. I know that because I know how he is. I don't want to get drawn at the end of November into conversations about what might happen in January onwards at the minute."
The Blues are scheduled to face Rennes in the UEFA Champions League during midweek. Chelsea could confirm their qualification for the next round should they manage to register a win against the French side.
Also read: Antonio Conte names 2 key transfer targets he missed out on as Chelsea manager
