Olivier Giroud's impact at Chelsea could be bigger than anyone anticipated.
The Frenchman joined the Blues from London rivals Arsenal in the 2018 January transfer window for a fee believed to be in the region of £18m.
And it could turn out to be the best £18m the west London outfit have ever spent.
Giroud played a key role in the Blues' FA Cup success during his first few months at the club and despite not being a regular in the side under Maurizio Sarri last season, he opened the scoring in the 2019 Europa League final win over his former club.
But it's the France international's contributions this season that could set Chelsea up for a bright future under head coach Frank Lampard.
It's no secret that Giroud was close to leaving Stamford Bridge in the January transfer window, but he stayed put and is almost single-handedly dragging the Blues over the line in the race for a top-four finish.
He scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Norwich City on Tuesday night to ensure his side remain in pole position for a Champions League spot.
That was Giroud's fourth goal since the restart, which earned him some praise from Lampard.
"Oli will always be alive to those in the box. If you're playing Olivier Giroud you want to get balls into the box, you need to play to his strengths, and he gets a really good goal. But the link-up is good," Lampard said in his post-match press conference.
"It generally could have been better when we're normally a lot slicker with the passing, but again, job done."
Of course, if Giroud can fire Chelsea into the Champions League then it boosts the club's chances of signing Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid Kai Havertz in the summer transfer window.
German publication Bild, via the Metro, claimed last month that Havertz is open to the idea of sealing a move to Stamford Bridge, but only as long as they have secured Champions League football for next season.
As a result, the £18m deal for Giroud over two years is looking increasingly like a very good piece of business.
