Following speculations on the future of some of his players, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has said he will wait until the January transfer window before discussing contract plans with them.
Olivier Giroud, Willian or Pedro will be out of contract next summer and will enter the final six months of their deal in January. This implies that the players will be free to discuss with other clubs about potentially joining on a free transfer.
Due to the impressive form of Tammy Abraham, French striker Giroud has struggled for action this season and has so far made just five Premier League appearances. He has subsequently been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge to clubs like Atletico Madrid, Crystal Palace, and Inter Milan in January to get a first-team action.
Giroud has been the first choice striker and has remained a mainstay of Didier Deschamps’ France side after Real Madrid striker was frozen out of the team. But has since been warned that could change if he doesn’t play regularly for his club. The striker is eager to secure more action before hopefully representing France at Euro 2020 in the summer.
Lampard, however, is not planning to discuss the striker’s future or any other players until the transfer window opens in January. The Chelsea boss said he has not discussed with Giroud about his future. As for Pedro and Willian, Lampard said he would have to discuss them with the club’s hierarchy before making a final decision on their futures.
He said: “No I have not spoken to Giroud.
“All the players that are here I won’t have any talk about January until we get to January. Everybody.
“I am happy for him (Giroud) to stay, as with every player in the squad I want them to be here for Chelsea, have the right professionalism and right desire to be here. He has shown me that in his training every day this season. That’s what I am happy with.
“I want players that want to be here and can perform well for us and they [Willian and Pedro] have done over well their careers here so that is simple from my point of view; I want good players here.”
