Spanish club Valencia are looking to fill the void left by their would-be-departing striker Roberto Soldado by replacing the Spaniard with Arsenal front-man Olivier Giroud, reports The Times.
Soldado is expected to complete a £26.5 million move to White Hart Lane within next few days, after reports emerged that Tottenham Hotspur have successfully triggered his release clause. Los Che are resigned to lose their captain and are drawing up a short list of possible attacking replacements for the prolific Spanish international.
The La Liga giants are reportedly targeting Manchester United’s striker Javier Hernandez, but the Red Devils are unwilling to sell their supremely gifted Mexican striker. As a result of which, they have shifted their attention elsewhere, and are thought to be keeping tabs on Olivier Giroud as a potential back-up option.
Giroud joined Arsenal last season from Ligue 1 side Montpellier in the summer on a long term deal for a fee in the region of £10 million. The Frenchman has had a hard time fitting in with the demands of English football and finished the season within 17 goals in all competitions.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, backed by £70 million transfer war-chest is looking to add another quality striker and has earmarked Luis Suarez of Liverpool to lead the attack next season. The Gunners have already lodged two official bids for the Uruguayan, suggesting how serious they are about landing a top striker.
Giroud said last week that he welcome a healthy competition in the side, should a top striker arrive in the summer at the Emirates, but even the Frenchman knows that any marquee signing, who-ever-he may be will always be the favoured first choice ahead of him, reducing his game time to a large extent. Does this boost the morale of any good striker who has only been at the club for one season?
Should the Frenchman consider a move, if good offer comes his way? Though, Valencia cannot provide him the platform of Champions League, but on the other hand, he would get regular games at the Mestalla. Rather than playing the role of a bit-part player and warming the bench, if he puts up a better performance that what he did at Arsenal, his chances of making it to the World Cup will be more.
Hence, it will be down to the player, whether he chooses the easy way out and grabs the opportunity to move to Valencia, when it presents itself. That is not only the most sensible option for the Frenchman, but also a more suitable one considering his style of play. Or it could be that Giroud is one of those, who would much prefer to stay at a bigger club and fight his way to the top with performance and determination. Either way, the decision rests with the player as the club & the manager don’t look intent on pushing him out of the club.
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