Frank Lampard insists he still wants Olivier Giroud as part of his squad for this season.
The Frenchman has expressed a desire to leave Chelsea in January after falling behind Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham in the forward depth chart.
Lampard told a press conference ahead of a Champions League meeting with Rennes on Tuesday: "I do have plans to have Oli, he's very important in our squad.
"He was a big member of our squad last year and I think he played a lot of games and made a lot of starts for us last year.
"When you look at our games, he made a lot of league starts and I think he played a relative amount. He will always want to play more.
"He is a huge member of the squad for me and I know he will be important for us going forward. I want Oli to stay here because he will play and I have a good relationship with Oli.
"If he ever felt that was going to go a different way then I am happy to have that conversation with him but I want him to stay here and we will be very open both ways if that ever changed, but at the minute, he is very important to me."
