ClapThe future of Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud has been a source of great discussion as of late, with many fans questioning whether or not he has much longer left to run of his tenure at Stamford Bridge.
The 33 year old has been with the Blues since back in 2018, when he signed from Arsenal and brought an end to his six-year spell at the Emirates. After a strong career in Europe, though, MLS Soccer and TEAMtalk is reporting that his future could lie in North America.
Major League Soccer comes across as a natural next step for the veteran forward as he looks ahead to the final big move of his career. The once prolific goalscorer, who won the World Cup with France last year, is ready to settle down after a spell in English football that saw him win eight trophies – including three FA Cups and one Europa League.
Les Bleus cometh
The report in question indicates that Vancouver Whitecaps were the team that had made the enquiry for the Frenchman. Alas, as it turns out, it appears to be a bit of a no go.
“Source: Vancouver Whitecaps have contacted Chelsea striker and World Cup champion Olivier Giroud about a potential transfer. However, he only wants a Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, New York or Chicago move.” Dan Riccio reports.
Living the high life is one of the big aspects behind making the jump over to the MLS, and we can somewhat understand the logic behind it. After all, if you’re going to completely change your trajectory within the sport, the least you could do is make the kind of move that is going to benefit your entire family.
Giroud is a player that has been there and done that, and the MLS would give him a great opportunity to rediscover his goalscoring form.
Finding the killer instinct
Then again, he could continue to be a great hold-up play type of forward, which is the role he has fallen into in recent years – and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Giroud himself will probably know that his time at the top of the European game has been and gone, but all footballers still want to take up as much time as they possibly can in the limelight before walking away. Olivier is probably still a good few years away from retirement, and the fact that he can still play the field like this must be a good feeling.
Unfortunately, the big losers in this instance are Vancouver Whitecaps, who had a disappointing campaign in which they finished in last place in the Western Conference with the second-worst points total in the league behind FC Cincinnati.
For one of the other big clubs in the cities that were mentioned, though, it’s a wake-up call that players out there are eager to make the jump so long as there is a space available to them.
It’s an exciting time to be a soccer fan over in the States, and Giroud could do a lot worse.
