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Giroud was 'close' to joining Everton

Lyndon Lloyd Sunday, 8 October, 2017 30comments  |  Jump to most recent
OIivier Giroud has revealed that he almost made a move from Arsenal to Everton over the summer but ultimately decided to stay put.

The Frenchman was the subject of serious interest from the Blues as the transfer deadline approached in August and while reports to that effect were not confirmed at the time, Ronald Koeman has since hinted that Giroud was his main target once the acquisition of Gylfi Sigurdsson had been completed.

Now Giroud himself has verified the reports, although he stopped short of confirming suggestions that it was his wife's desire to stay in London that was the overriding factor.

"I had the opportunity to leave [Arsenal]," he told Canal+ in France. "I was very close to another English club, Everton.

"But I think I made the best choice."  

Reader Comments (30)

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Phil Davies
1 Posted 09/10/2017 at 00:53:19
"But I think I made the best choice." - just shows how bad a season we're having when he'd rather sit on the Arsenal bench than be starting for us.

Would have loved him up front for us but he's not the answer to the biggest problem we have, we'd punt the ball 50 yards up the pitch to him and he'd have to wait 10 minutes before the incredibly slow midfield manages to get up the pitch to him.

David Currie
2 Posted 09/10/2017 at 04:56:22
Glad he stayed, would have been another slow player. We need speed and a striker who can beat players one on one, no big lumps.
Alan J Thompson
3 Posted 09/10/2017 at 05:45:13
Is there nobody at Everton who can manage two things at once? Koeman, Walsh, Kenwright and Moshiri couldn't have handled this while speaking to Swansea, or did the local golf club have a Four-Ball Comp on that day? Let's just hope something was lost in translation.
Kunal Desai
4 Posted 09/10/2017 at 07:17:58
Arsenal are a far superior club than Everton. End of. Not a difficult decison really.
Alasdair Mackay
5 Posted 09/10/2017 at 10:30:59
Giroux would have improved us if the system was right, but with 3 no10s tripping over each other, no width or pace and 6 at the back for a home game with Burnley - I think he'd have been scratching his head.

The problem is Koeman.

Play Lookman, Mirallas or Lennon - pace.
Play Rooney up front and Sigurdsson behind.
Give Sandro and Klaasen more time to get up to speed with the Prem, but play other players in the meantime.

Koeman Out. Rhino in!

Tony Marsh
6 Posted 09/10/2017 at 10:41:48
No thanks can't get a game for Arsenal. That's all we need another ageing plodder. We are crying out for some pace FFS. II thought we were a big club now if so why do we need the French Brett Angel. ?
John G Davies
7 Posted 09/10/2017 at 11:08:34
Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Grenoble 23 (2)
2007–2008 → Istres (loan) 33 (14)
2008–2010 Tours 44 (24)
2010–2012 Montpellier 73 (33)
2010 → Tours (loan) 17 (6)
2012– Arsenal 170 (70)
National team‡
2011– France 67 (27


Dont think Brett scored that many

Colin Glassar
9 Posted 09/10/2017 at 11:19:14
I don't want a player who spends 3 hours, in front of a mirror, just to comb his beard!!
Derek Thomas
10 Posted 09/10/2017 at 11:21:12
We don't need somebody to replace DCL, we need somebody to play with him and share the load...oh and a manager to pick a decent team for the other 8 positions and cobble together a formation that maximises them not cancels them all out.
Carl Taylor
11 Posted 09/10/2017 at 11:48:44
Love the Red Echo spin on this; 'Might explain why Everton had no back up plan'. Why? What club goes all out for another teams 3rd/4th choice striker and doesn't have an alternative option? We are a joke from top to bottom, still. New money, same dysfunctional club.

Can't get my head around the 'wait and see' approach we are still adopting with Koeman. If HE had got his main and only striking target in Giroud, would we be any better than we currently are? That is proof enough for me that the longer we wait, the less attractive a proposition we become to any potential new manager or players. Giroud feels he made the right choice staying on the Arsenal bench. Come January, will it be David Moyes feels he is better waiting for the managers job at his local B&Q, rather than taking over a club that makes Sunderland look well organised! Aarrrgghhhhh

Shane Corcoran
12 Posted 09/10/2017 at 12:12:52
Cracking stuff. Giroud and Brett Angell in the same sentence.

Colin, his time in front of the mirror has exactly zero relevance unless it somehow affected his performance.

I agree though that he's not for Everton considering our lack of pace. Otherwise he'd have been very welcome.

Tony J Williams
13 Posted 09/10/2017 at 12:33:01
Is he better than we have now?

I think only the most nuttiest of fans would suggest he isn't.

As above, why can't more than one transfer be concluded at the same time?

It happened earlier with Pickford and Keane (Sandro?)

New owner same old shite

James Stewart
14 Posted 09/10/2017 at 13:04:41
Not what we needed at all. I find the fact that Giroud and Vermaelen would have been brought in by Koeman/Walsh very worrying.
Both slow ageing players who would have been on high wages.
Scott Hall
15 Posted 09/10/2017 at 13:15:32
Would have been a great signing with the right system. He thrives on crosses into the box. Scores some terrific goals with his head.

But he'd have died a death playing in the system Koeman has deployed so far.

To be fair though, I'd struggle to name a striker that could thrive in Koeman's current 4-2-1-1-1-1 system.

Tom Bowers
16 Posted 09/10/2017 at 13:46:20
There are many and's if's but's and maybe's about certain players coming to Everton this season.
Some are genuine deals gone wrong and some were just tabloid trash. Ultimately it's about who did sign and how they are performing which is quite dismal so far.
Klassen, Sandro and Gylfi stand out as underachievers so far but others are not far behind.
Of course, Koeman picks the team and lays out the strategies which have also been failures.
We, realistically cannot hope much will change till January or until he is relieved of his duties that he tenuously holds on to.
Looking forward to the next match we all hope that the performance will be better. Certainly we keep expecting a higher intensity level but confidence has been affected and until that is raised back up again it will be difficult.
Hard to say if Giroud would have made any difference to the results so far but clearly the defence has been all at sea in many games.
Eddie Dunn
18 Posted 09/10/2017 at 17:54:39
The man must think that he dodged a bullet. We have no width, so his aerial prowess would have been wasted but for the odd diagonal ball from one of our number tens.
He most definitely would have improved us. He is a proven goalscorer in the PL and would have provided a platform for the play and his clever touches would have brought others into the game.
For all of the moaning about his lack of pace, I have to say, it isn't the first thing that comes to mind when I have watched him previously. Kane isn't blessed with great speed- but would those same critics turn their noses up at him?
Oliver Brunel
19 Posted 09/10/2017 at 18:35:57
Im concerned that Koeman thinks Giroud is the striker we need…another waste of money. Ive heard we are in for Jankhto, the Czech player who plays for Udinese. Haven't seen much of him though contacts rate highly.
Darren Hind
20 Posted 09/10/2017 at 18:47:22
He didn't sign, so it doesn't really matter why.

Come May, we will have a better idea who dodged the bullet: him or us.

Ray Smith
21 Posted 09/10/2017 at 19:19:57
Oliver 19

Perhaps Steve Walsh could give us the lowdown on Janchto!

After all he did spend 2 weeks in Italy, didn't he!

I know I've said it before, but what does Walsh actually do?

Alan J Thompson
22 Posted 10/10/2017 at 06:20:42
James (#14); Did you mean Giroud and Vermaelen or were you thinking Rooney and Sigurdsson?
Sam Hoare
23 Posted 10/10/2017 at 09:55:13
I'd have been very happy with Giroud and still would be. He holds the ball well and links play pretty successfully. He also has a very good goal record. Of course he'd have to play with some faster players around him, ideally Sigurdsson at Number 10 and maybe two of Calvert-Lewin, Lookman, Mirallas or Vlasic playing wide.

If he doesn't want to come, then maybe Bas Dost is the man as he continues his impressive 1 goal per game scoring rate in Portugal.

Brian Porter
24 Posted 10/10/2017 at 11:39:46
It doesn't say much for us as a club, or the supposed pulling power of Ronald Koeman, when a player of international repute like Giroud prefers to be stuck on the Arsenal bench as third choice striker rather than be first choice for Everton.

I don't care what our summer signings might say about coming because of Koeman. They would hardly say anything less would they? It's obvious that top players don't care a fig about Koeman's so-called reputation. He couldn't pull a whore on Amsterdam's Reeperbahn.

John G Davies
25 Posted 10/10/2017 at 12:37:00
He definitely couldn't, Brian.

The Reeperbahn is in Hamburg!

Arild Andersen
26 Posted 10/10/2017 at 21:16:14
Sam (#23), about Bas Dost: Never seen him play before, but I'm watching Netherlands vs Sweden at the moment, and he came on for Janssen at half-time and he looks good. Tall, strong, physical, a bit Big Dunc-esque, wins a lot of headers without having to use his arms, just headed Wijnaldum through, but his volley was saved.

Netherlands are 2-0 up from two goals by Robben, but need to win 7-0 to progress, so Sweden has really parked the bus. Netherlands are having a lot of possession, but their best chances after the break have come through Dost winning headers for the midfielders to run on.

Still waiting for Klaassen to come on. Also Sweden's Forsberg (RB Leipzig) looks useful.

Edit: Klaassen is on for Wijnaldum. He has 20 mins.

Matthew Williams
27 Posted 11/10/2017 at 14:52:15
Klaassen looked poor again!

If we're going to spend silly money on a striker, then it has to be Tosun of Turkey: skill, pace, balance, can use both feet and has a very good strike rate for both club and country.

At least he looks like a player that can excite the Goodison faithful... Giroud wouldn't.

Frank Wade
28 Posted 11/10/2017 at 22:04:50
Koeman rumoured to be interested in Dutch striker Van Duinen:

Link

Frank Wade
29 Posted 11/10/2017 at 22:13:36
Anyone seen much of Torino and Italy striker Andrea Belotti. Looks decent on YouTube as others have done. Good scoring record.
Colin Glassar
30 Posted 11/10/2017 at 22:17:52
Decent, Frank? He's one of the most sought after players right now. He'd cost a bomb.
Frank Wade
31 Posted 12/10/2017 at 00:43:09
Always afraid to issue glowing reports after just viewing on YouTube, Colin. I have been found wanting with my YouTube scouting before. Hence the decent rating.
Russ Quinlan
32 Posted 12/10/2017 at 13:56:42
Who really cares!!??

I 'nearly' won the lottery last night but was only 6 numbers out!!

Can't be arsed reading about players who 'nearly' signed, we just don't care, all we care about is the ones we do sign!

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