Much of the excitement around Chelsea so far this season has understandably been on all the new faces and it’s great to see a new-look XI beginning to take shape.
Blues manager Frank Lampard is building a side that are becoming more resilient defensively with some big signings at the back, while going forward they have some explosive pace and serious goal threats that are trying to build combinations together.
But spare a thought for some of the players that secured the club a top-four finish last season who have been shifted down the pecking order, especially centre-forward Olivier Giroud.
Giroud has played just three games so far this season, with the only starting coming in the Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham.
The 34-year-old is stuck behind teammates Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham in the battle for the starting forward position, which is why he’s seeing such little action on the pitch and is mainly watching on from the bench.
But the Frenchman couldn’t have done much more in a Chelsea shirt.
He’s scored 29 goals in 91 games since his move to Stamford Bridge for £18million (BBC) back in January 2018 and he’s been the perfect professional.
Giroud offers the team something different with his physical presence in the final third and his brilliant link up play, but he’s not fitting into the quick style that Lampard is trying to create and it’s clear that Werner is the individual that will be a mainstay in the forward line.
The left-footed striker has proven on the international stage with France he’s still a top-class talent and he scored eight goals in the final 12 league games of last season for Chelsea, but unfortunately for him the Blues are now moving in a different direction.