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Blow for Everton as striker confirms he is not moving this summer

Everton have been dealt a bitter blow in their attempts to sign Olivier Giroud after the striker confirmed he is not leaving Arsenal this summer.

Everton are known to in the market for a new striker this summer, and following Arsenal’s £52m purchase of Alexandre Lacazette, Giroud was heavily linked with a move to Goodison Park where he would be more likely to be the main striker.

West Ham, Marseille and Borussia Dortmund have also been linked with having an interest in the Frenchman. However, following yesterday’s opening Premier League encounter against Leicester City, a game in which Giroud scored the winner, he confirmed he intended to stay at Arsenal.

He told SFR Sport:

“I will be staying at Arsenal.”

Arsene Wenger also added after the game that he was delighted that the 30-year-old had decided to stay at the Emirates, after he had offered him the opportunity to leave.

“He doesn’t want to leave and I’m happy he wants to stay. At one stage I opened the door for him to go as I knew I had many strikers, and in the end he decided to stay.

“I love the man and the player. He’s a fantastic guy and he’s committed, in his prime and at the top of his game.

“I don’t want him to go. It was one of the great days for me in recent weeks [when he said he would stay].

“I know how important he is not only as a player – he’s a fantastic player – but also in the group he has a big weight. It was a relief for me he decided to stay. No chance will he go. It is a determined no.”

Everton have been reported to be interested in Giroud’s Arsenal team mate, Danny Welbeck, as well as former Blackburn striker, Nikola Kalinic. Ronald Koeman has also reiterated that Gylfi Sigurdsson’s much rumoured move to Goodison Park is ‘close’.

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