Chelsea manager Antonio Conte says he is “very happy” that the club managed to sign Olivier Giroud on deadline day.
At the request of the Italian coach, the Blues have been seeking a target man for the best part of a year since their pursuit of Fernando Llorente last January.
Giroud signed from Arsenal for £18m following the collapse in negotiations to sign Edin Dzeko from Roma. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Conte was delighted that the club signed the type of striker he’d been asking for:
“For Giroud, we are talking about an international player with a lot of experience. A player that plays for the French national team and is 31-years-old, so we are not talking about a young player.”
“For this reason, our expectation is that he will help us. I asked for this type of player with these characteristics to my club and the club gave me the opportunity to work with Giroud, so I’m very happy.”
The Sun have reported that the French international could be in line for a surprise start against Watford on Monday night with Alvaro Morata still out with a back injury.
Conte suggested that this may not happen with Willian likely return to the starting line up instead, following his own absence from the first team against Bournemouth due to a hamstring injury.
