Striker reveals he would have chosen other club ahead of Spurs interest

Olivier Giroud has admitted that there was interest from Tottenham Hotspur in bringing him back to North London during the January transfer window.

The French striker had struggled for game time this season at Stamford Bridge but had since found himself in the starting line-up following the injury to first-choice Tammy Abraham.

Giroud netted the opening goal during Chelsea’s 2-1 win against Spurs in February which denied Jose Mourinho’s side the chance to close the gap on their London rivals in fourth place.

The 33-year-old has revealed that while there was interest from Tottenham, his preference was a move to Inter Milan.

The former Arsenal player was keen to play under Antonio Conte once again, only for Chelsea to block the move after failing to land a replacement.

There was also interest from Lazio and Lyon but instead, he remained within Frank Lampard’s squad while Spurs continued to struggle to fill the void left by the injured pair of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.

He told Telefoot: “In January, I saw myself far away from Chelsea,”

“I saw six complicated months ahead of me. That’s why I had the desire to change scenery. I tried to leave in January.

“It was all done, but in the end Chelsea didn’t want to let me go.

“I could only leave on the condition they found a replacement. I still hoped to leave on January 31.

“Everyone knows that Inter’s sporting project was the most interesting for me.

“Them aside, Lazio and Tottenham also looked at me.

“At one point, it was a question of where I wanted to play. I talked to Conte on the phone, he’s known me from when he took me to Chelsea: that was an advantage for me.

“In addition, Inter play in the Champions League. They’re a great club.

“Lazio, for their part, tried absolutely everything, even coming to London to try something, but the deal was blocked.

“I also talked on the phone to Lyon’s President, who expressed an interest in me, but I told him that my priority was going to Inter.”

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