West Ham are desperate to improve their attacking lines this summer and one name that continues to appear is that of Arsenal’s French striker Olivier Giroud, who could be in-line to make a lucrative move across London.
The Telegraph claims that West Ham are ready to make a club-record move to bring the 30-year-old Frenchman to the club, with a fee worth around £20m and a contract of £120k-a-week set to be put on the table.
Arsenal would prefer not to sell the former Montpellier man but Giroud has made it clear he wants regular action ahead of the World Cup next summer after spending the majority of the past two seasons on the fringes, as a back-up to Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez respectively.
Unfortunately for the French striker, there’s a contentious that he’s not as good as he truly his- often criticised for missing chances whilst getting less praise when he should for doing the right things and it’s only recently that Arsenal fans are growing towards him.
Giroud’s class has been shown on the international stage recently as he became the first player to score a hat-tick for Les Bleus since David Trezeguet in 2000 and also drew level with Karim Benzema’s record for the national side.
West Ham fans may be drawn into the belief that Giroud isn’t good enough but that couldn’t be further from the truth, as he’s a quality player who can be a tremendous asset if used correctly- especially for a club like West Ham.
After being signed five years ago, Giroud boasts a tremendous return of 98 goals and 41 assists from his time at the Emirates Stadium and it’s worth remembering he helped lead an unfavourable Montpellier side to the Ligue 1 title in 2012.
At West Ham as the leading man, Giroud would certainly prove his doubters wrong and would be a significant improvement to the current options that the Hammers have in attack- and the support he’d get from the likes of Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini would bring the best out of the entire team.
Giroud isn’t a selfish striker as is as good with his back to goal as he is in front of it, often providing tremendous assists to his team-mates- notably the two assists for Aaron Ramsey’s FA Cup winning goals in 2014 and earlier this year.
The French striker was also influential in Jack Wilshere’s famous goal against Norwich and these sort of displays are often overlooked, with Giroud struggling to excel as a lone striker but one that can thrive with support- which is what West Ham can offer him.