Olivier Giroud addresses Chelsea exit rumours

Olivier Giroud has insisted that he wants to stay at Chelsea despite struggling for starts this season.

Giroud, who joined Chelsea from Arsenal back in January, has only scored once for the Blues in all competitions this term and is yet to register in nine Premier League appearances.

Indeed, Alvaro Morata has become the team's starting striker in recent weeks, which led to suggestions that Giroud was considering his future at Stamford Bridge.

The 32-year-old, however, has vowed to fight for the starting spot in Maurizio Sarri's XI.

"I feel like it is as if we are where we were several months ago when I was being asked the same questions before the World Cup," Giroud told Telefoot. "Today, I am calm, happy with this World Cup title. I relativise a lot of things.

"I don't need to put myself under more pressure than that. Of course, I am a competitor and I would like more playing time. But I am in a very big club, with very big players. I am going to fight and for the moment, it is not a question about seeking a departure. I am going to stick in there and do not count on me to give up.

"I came back late from the World Cup [so] Morata played. In the national team in September, with this goal against the Netherlands, that did me good. After that, when I came back to Chelsea, I played several matches as a starter.

"Today, the coach has introduced healthy competition. Morata started again, he played well. It is true that we were having issues in the effectiveness department, he scored, and things are going better."

Chelsea will return to Premier League action with a trip to Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.