Blues have reportedly held preliminary discussions with Olivier Giroud over signing a new deal, with his current deal ready to expire this summer.
The 33-year-old centre-forward has been limited to only 13 games so far this campaign, as he has been forced to play back-up to Tammy Abraham who has been the preferred option up top for Lampard.
With his deal ready to run down at the end of the season, it appeared at one point as though it was merely inevitable that Olivier would move on given his lack of game time. Giroud now wanted to extend his stay at London club, it had already been quite a turnaround in a matter of weeks.
However, having stepped in for Tammy due to his injury blow in the matches which preceded the coronavirus crisis, France international showed his worth with two goals in three Premier League starts to help get Blues back on track in the battle to claim a top-four finish.
In winter on the French striker closing in on the move to Inter Milan. Now, preliminary discussions have already been held over a new deal, and so it remains to be seen if the two parties can reach an agreement after the coronavirus lockdown comes to an end.
It’s noted though that Blues may start with only a one-year offer, and at 33 and given this could be his last major deal at the top level, the World Cup winner may well be looking for something a little more long term, and that could yet prove to be an essential obstacle in talks.