Olivier Giroud performs Chelsea U-turn as he targets new contract at Stamford Bridge

Rejuvenated: Giroud has impressed in recent appearances
Action Images via Reuters

Olivier Giroud says he now wants to extend his stay at Chelsea following a remarkable turn around in his fortunes.

The French World Cup-winner looked certain to leave the club in the January transfer window following just two starts in the Premier League during the first half of the season.

A deal with Inter Milan was all but agreed before a move to Tottenham almost materialised late on, but Giroud was left in limbo after Chelsea failed to bring in a replacement.

Fast-forward a month, however, and the former Arsenal man looks rejuvenated having come in for the injured Tammy Abraham.

With his contract up in the summer, Giroud is now eyeing a longer stay in west London. Asked if he would now like to sign a new deal at Stamford Bridge, the answer was unequivocal: “Yes. Yes. Yeah, of course.

"There are a few months to go, games to win and maybe another trophy, and after, you know, I think I have two (or) three nice seasons in front of me. It’s not the time to talk about contracts and everything but I will take a decision when it comes.”

Giroud has now started the last four games in all competitions - something he hasn't done at Chelsea since May 2018 - and with his confidence bubbling after a tough January, he is even relishing the return of Abraham from injury.

“It was a tough month for me,” said Giroud. “I just spoke with the manager and I believed what he said, that I would get my chance and he has given me my chance. I have basically tried to give his confidence back on the pitch.

“I do my job the best that I can and I’m very happy to be back in the team. Of course, my confidence is better. The transfer window is behind me. I’m a Chelsea player, I’m happy here again and that’s the most important thing. Even if I don’t score, I try to help the team.

“My confidence is getting higher and higher because I am playing more games. I don’t know how long Tammy will be out for, to be honest. When he comes back, I will need him to be ready and then we can have a good competition again, which will be good for the team."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in