BT Sport pundit Glenn Hoddle has insisted that playing Olivier Giroud is the best way of helping improve the performance of other Chelsea players, including Eden Hazard.
The French striker has made the majority of his 24 Premier League appearances this season from the bench, scoring just twice. Although he has had more luck in the Europa League where he has scored 10 times in 11 appearances, including the Blues' second goal in Thursday's four three win over Slavia Prague.
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That victory secured Chelsea a place in the Europa League Semi-Final, where they will play German side Eintracht in early May.
Speaking on BT Sport, former Chelsea man Hoddle, praised Giroud's impact on the whole team.
"They need him (Giroud) up there because he brings players into play," he said.
"He struggled a little second half without the service. Slavia Prague pressed higher in the second-half because they knew he didn’t have the pace to spin in behind."
The 32-year-old is out of contract in the summer, and, as reported by football.london, the player wants assurances of playing time from manager Sarri, before committing to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge.
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"Trust me, I'm very frustrated when I'm not on the pitch, but I just don't want to show it,"Giroud said. "When you are a competitor, when you've been through difficulties all through your career, you need to keep that frustration inside you and transform it into positive energy on the pitch.
"Trust me, though, I'm not happy to play the second role. That's why I said, next year, I will need to have a more important role to play in the team.
It's not just Europa League goals that the World Cup winner has bought to the team, playing Giroud up front allows attacker Eden Hazard freedom to play on the left, the position he has impressed most at.
Much has been made of the way that manager Maurizio Sarri has used Hazard this season. The Italian manager has been known to play the 28-year-old attacker in a central role, as was the case in the Blues' Premier League defeat to league leaders Liverpool last Sunday. However, Hoddle believes that the position doesn't get the best out of the Belgian.
"It doesn’t work, him (Hazard) playing down the middle as he did at Anfield," he continued. "You need your best players facing up their opponents. That’s where he’s at his best."
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With Hazard being strongly linked with a summer move to Real Madird, and Giroud's stance, both of the players' futures at the club currently look unsure, whether they are both still at Stamford Bridge for the start of the 2019/20 season is still to be seen.
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