Frank Lampard Talks Olivier Giroud, Dries Mertens Rumours: 'No Ins and No Outs'

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has revealed the club will not be signing Napoli's Dries Mertens or parting with Olivier Giroud before the transfer window shuts on Friday. 

According to Simon Jones and Adrian Kajumba of MailOnline, the Blues had a bid turned down for Mertens, while Giroud has been linked with Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Inter Milan and Lazio, per Football.London.

When questioned on the possibility of Giroud leaving on Friday, Lampard said, per Football.London's Oliver Harbord: "No. He has been incredible as a player and a man during this time. Will he leave? No. He trained today. No ins and no outs."

He also said "no" to Mertens' potential arrival and added: "The window is 95 per cent shut for us. The answer is probably no for the players you would ask about."

Mertens is in the final six months of his contract at Napoli, for whom he has scored 118 goals in 304 games, as well as providing 71 assists.

The 32-year-old hasn't scored a league goal since September, but he found the net five times in the UEFA Champions League group stage, including in both of the Partenopei's matches with Liverpool.

Chelsea have been linked with goalscorers following an ankle injury to Tammy Abraham, who has netted 15 times this season but only twice in his past nine league matches.

On Abraham's fitness ahead of Chelsea's clash with Leicester City on Saturday, Lampard said: "He trained today, and he has felt OK. We will test him in the morning. But it was a positive."

Whether he manages to feature against the Foxes or not, it seems Abraham is not a long-term absentee, so Chelsea will still be able to rely on him for the remainder of the campaign.

The Blues only have Giroud and Michy Batshuayi as back-up, but seeing as the former has only been used for 282 minutes this season, they would likely have been safe parting with him. The 33-year-old would have been a squad player at Inter or Lazio, but he would have been a regular starter for Spurs—who will be without Harry Kane until April—Newcastle or Villa.

Unless his circumstances change dramatically, remaining at Stamford Bridge will be a significant blow to his chances of earning a place in France's UEFA Euro 2020 squad. Given his age, that is likely to be his last international tournament.