Frank Lampard clarifies Chelsea’s position over Olivier Giroud amid transfer talk

The 33-year-old is linked to a number of clubs including Inter Milan

Giroud could leave Chelsea in January (AFP)

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard confirmed that centre-forward Olivier Giroud is closing in on a departure from Stamford Bridge.

The 33-year-old is linked to a number of clubs including Inter Milan as he looks to secure his spot in the France squad for this summer’s Euros with regular football.

A deal is not agreed, but Lampard confirmed that Giroud’s agent had been in touch with the club.

The 41-year-old, speaking ahead of Chelsea’s fixture with Burnley on Saturday, said: “He has been a great professional here. I hold him in a lot of respect. Everybody is talking about it, his agent has spoken to the club. But it’s not done. It is not necessarily about getting someone in first.”

On the subject of “getting someone in first”, Chelsea have been linked with a move for Lyon forward Moussa Dembele, who has scored 10 goals in Ligue 1 this season.

But Lampard said “nothing is close” regarding any purchases in the January window. “He is a player I know and the club knows,” he continued. “But it is a surprise for his name to pop up so much when it’s not as much in my conversations.

“At the moment we are working very hard in the training ground. I don’t want to cut and dry on anyone, but it is not one we are talking about.”

As such, Tammy Abraham looks set to continue the season as Chelsea’s starting striker and – given the serious nature of Harry Kane’s injury – might be in with a shot of starting as England number nine.

“I don’t know what their plans are, they don’t know ours,” Lampard said. “January can be limited. I concentrate on what we can do for us. It’s not nice to hear about injuries to players like Harry.

“Tammy has given himself a chance. Work is there to be done. It depends on what he does and what the squad is when the Euros come. I am delighted with him, his progression. I think he is a player who can play in the highest level. I expect a lot more of him in scoring goals.”

Lampard also provided updates on Christian Pulisic, saying: “Pulisic is out, he’ll be out for a few weeks. He was injured in training last Saturday. It’s an injury in the abductor, so he’s got a tendon injury. It was quite a nasty injury, he was in pain when it happened.”

The Englishman also confirmed that Marcos Alonso and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will miss the Burnley game.

Chelsea’s recent form has been mixed and includes disappointing home defeats to West Ham United, Bournemouth and Southampton, and Lampard is aiming to avoid another upset here, saying: “When you analyse the three games we lost, they give you a bad feeling. You see we have created 50 chances but no goals.

“Southampton we didn’t play that well. But we need to take our chances. It’s easy to say unlucky and things like that. But we have to get things right and we work on that in training. We need to find that killer instinct.”

But Burnley present a difficult challenge and have not lost at Stamford Bridge since 2016. “They have a good record at the Bridge, very organised style and they can hurt you,” said Lampard. “It’s almost like not the worst game you can play but a team who can hurt you.”