Sunday 12 January 2020 12:25, UK
Inter Milan are close to an agreement with Chelsea over a deal for Olivier Giroud, according to Sky in Italy.
Officials from the Serie A side held talks with the France striker's agents last week.
Sky in Italy reported on Friday that Giroud, whose Blues deal expires in the summer, had agreed a two-and-a-half-year contract.
There is less than £1m (€1.17m) between Chelsea's request and Inter's offer. The Blues have asked for £4.3m plus £850,000 (€5m + €1m), while Inter have offered £3.4m plus £850,000 (€4m + €1m).
There is an ongoing exchange of emails and there is a desire to close the deal as soon as possible.
Lyon have also been keen to sign the 33-year-old forward, while Aston Villa made a loan approach earlier in the window.
Giroud was at Stamford Bridge on Saturday watching the 3-0 win over Burnley from behind the team's dugout.
He has not featured for Frank Lampard's side since the end of November, with Tammy Abraham the preferred choice.
Giroud has scored 19 goals since joining Chelsea in January 2018, although only five have come in the league where the majority of his appearances have been as a substitute.
He has only made five Premier League appearances this season, with four of his five goals for the campaign on international duty and the fifth in the European Super Cup against Liverpool.
A move to Inter would reunite Giroud with Antonio Conte, who initially signed him for Chelsea after his five-and-a-half season spell with London rivals Arsenal.
Lampard admitted on Friday that it wouldn't be a gamble if he opted to sell Giroud in January.
"Oli has been great and I respect him for that and that slightly comes into my thinking as well," he said.
"The club will always come first. If I feel the decision is to keep everybody in the January window that will be my decision too. Nothing is done yet."
Sky Sports will bring you the very latest news from the January transfer market with the return of three shows.
Start your day with Good Morning Transfers at 9am as our team of reporters bring you the latest news and insight. Transfer Talk follows at midday delivering analysis of the biggest stories. Then join us at 7pm for the definitive round-up of the day's news with The Transfer Show.
The Transfer Talk podcast is back with more expert analysis from here and across the continent.
And as well as tuning into Sky Sports News, don't miss a thing with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.
