Chelsea put off Giroud contract talks to summer

Chelsea and Olivier Giroud will wait until the end of the season before a decision is made on his future.

Giroud scored a spectacular goal, his sixth in the Champions League this season, to secure a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their last16 tie with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

His contract expires this season and he is yet to hold talks over whether the option will be taken for him to stay. The 34-year-old has started three of Thomas Tuchel’s games as head coach and scored as a substitute against Newcastle United.

Tuchel admitted he may have made a mistake by leaving Giroud on the bench for the draw with Southampton and praised the Frenchman’s attitude and fitness following the Atletico game.

With Chelsea facing a busy schedule, Tuchel will not present his ideas on the squad to the club’s board until closer to the end of the season.

Even if Chelsea offered him another one-year extension, it is not yet clear whether Giroud would accept it.

He turns 35 in September and Chelsea will try to sign a new striker in the summer, with Erling Haaland their top target. It is unlikely Giroud would accept a position of sitting on the bench or in the stands most weeks for the final years of his career.

Signed for £18million from Arsenal in January 2018, Giroud has proved to be one of the best value-for-money signings for Chelsea over recent years.