Premier League 2019/20: 3 players who would benefit from a transfer in January

#3 Olivier Giroud

Olivier Giroud is receiving no first team football at Chelsea

When Chelsea chose to send Gonzalo Higuain – who had been on loan at Stamford Bridge since the January 2019 transfer window – back to Juventus this summer, French striker Olivier Giroud must’ve figured his luck was finally in, and that he’d finally be trusted to lead the line for the Blues. Unfortunately for the World Cup winner, that hasn’t been the case at all.

New Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has handed young gun Tammy Abraham – a product of Chelsea’s academy – his chance to spearhead the Blues’ attack instead, and the England international has grasped his chance with both hands, scoring 10 Premier League goals in just 12 games. And if Giroud was expecting playing time from the substitutes’ bench instead, even that hasn’t been the case.

Lampard has largely preferred Michy Batshuayi to Giroud as his go-to substitute, meaning the French hitman has seen his playing time cut to just 121 minutes thus far this season. And realistically, that’s just not enough for a man who is still one of the French national team’s go-to forwards.

Giroud is now 33 years old, and while he has spoken about a potential move to MLS, that feels like a waste right now given he’s still more than capable of scoring goals at the top level. If he wants to really push for a starting spot in France’s Euro 2020 campaign, then he needs to depart Chelsea as soon as possible – most likely in January – and a move away from England feels like the smartest idea at this stage.