France manager Didier Deschamps has made it clear to Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud that he must leave the club in January in order to remain in his plans ahead of next summer's rearranged European Championships.
The Frenchman, who joined the Blues from London rivals Arsenal back in January 2018, has fallen down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge following Timo Werner's arrival from RB Leipzig during the summer, meaning both the Germany international and Tammy Abraham are ahead of him in the running for a regular starting berth.
Despite being limited to just six appearances in all competitions so far this term, the 34-year-old, who scored 10 goals last season for Frank Lampard's side, was named in Deschamps' squad for the clashes with Finland, Portugal and Sweden over this current international break.
Giroud started last Wednesday evening's shock 2-0 friendly defeat to Finland in Paris before being substituted after 57 minutes. He was, however, forced to start from the bench for Saturday's 1-0 win over Portugal on Saturday evening before coming on for the final 12 minutes to replace Manchester United's Anthony Martial.
The win over Portugal did secure France's passage to next October's UEFA Nations League finals, meaning Tuesday evening's tussle with Sweden is of less importance. That means that Deschamps could rotate his pack and reinstall Giroud to the side for a competitive fixture.
However, ahead of the next international break in March, Giroud has been told that he must find an alternative "solution" to the current one he finds himself in at Stamford Bridge, with game time becoming more and more limited.
“He knows it, what he is going through now cannot continue," said Deschamps. "For March, he will have to find a solution that is different to the one he is in now.”
Giroud knows that he must do enough between now and next June to remain in the thoughts of Deschamps, with the European Championships fast approaching.
France, of course, are blessed with no shortage of attacking talent, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Anthony Martial, Antoine Griezmann and Wissam Ben Yedder all competing for places at the top end of the pitch.
