Olympique Marseille are poised to swoop for Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud, reports talkSPORT.
Having tried and failed to land the France international in the last two transfer windows, L’OM are desperate to turn their faltering season around. Three defeats in four saw them slip out of the Champions League places in Ligue Un, as well as the Europa League.
Beaten in last year’s final by Atletico Madrid, Marseille had hopes of going one better this season but consecutive defeats at the hands of Lazio ended their interest in European glory.
Their timing couldn’t be better. Giroud, a World Cup winner in the summer with France, finds himself no more than a squad member at Stamford Bridge. New coach Maurizio Sarri rotates the 32-year-old with Alvaro Morata, 25, whose six goals this season make him the Italian’s favoured son at the moment.
Giroud scored his first goal of the season in the Europa League win over BATE Borisov but found himself praised by Sarri for his hard work. So far, that hasn’t been rewarded. The former Arsenal striker has made just four Premier League starts all season.
If Marseille do fashion a bid in January, the prospect of regular first-team football may be too good to turn down, even if it means dropping out of a title-challenging side.
