Olivier Giroud 'will cost Arsenal £42m and is too good for Newcastle'

Posted Thursday, December 29, 2011 by Metro.co.uk

Newcastle have been deemed ‘too small’ to sign Montpellier’s Olivier Giroud, while Arsenal have been quoted £42million for the French striker.

Olivier Giroud 'will cost Arsenal £42m and is too good for Newcastle'
Talent: Montpellier's Olivier Giroud

The 25-year-old has been in good form in Ligue 1 this season, scoring 13 goals in 18 games, and both the Magpies and Gunners have been linked with a potential January bid.

However, Montpellier owner Louis Nicollin has ruled out the possibility of Giroud signing for Alan Pardew’s men, and has told all other interested parties that only an outrageous offer would tempt him to sell.

When quizzed on the Geordies interest in Giroud, Nicollin said: ‘Newcastle? They are too small for him.

‘Arsenal? We must see if Arsene Wenger is interested because he has Van Persie.
‘€10m? He won't go for that.

‘Given that he still has more than two years left on his contract, he'll cost a lot more, either €50m (£41.7m) or €60m (£50m).’

However, Toon boss Pardew is unlikely to be too put out by Nicollin’s comments after revealing he wouldn’t be venturing into the market for a new forward anyway.

‘I don't think we'll be bringing a striker in in this window after the collapse of (Modibo) Maiga, which we put a lot of work into,’ he told a press conference on Sky Sports News.

‘I think, as far as we're concerned, we'll go with what we've got.

'You have to pay over the odds in this window, everybody does, and you have to accept that if you're going to invest in this window. But we won't be in terms of a striker.'