Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris contributed a rare assist by a goalkeeper long before he made his debut with the MLS club. In fact, he lent a helping hand within days of the official announcement that he’d be joining.
Lloris was wrapping up his final days with Tottenham this winter, set to bid farewell to the fans at halftime of their New Year’s Eve game against Bournemouth. LAFC chief soccer officer and co-president John Thorrington traveled to London to be on hand for Lloris’ special day, and had dinner with Lloris during that trip.
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By that point, Thorrington had already begun working on the potential signing of Lloris’ longtime France teammate and close friend Olivier Giroud. Agent Hugo was already on the case.
“When we were at dinner, he definitely mentioned there was a very pointed question from Olivier that he sent via text,” Thorrington told The Athletic. “The conversations with Olivier started before we signed Hugo, but they are very close friends.”
A deal long in the works was officially confirmed on Tuesday, with Giroud and the club confirming that the striker will depart AC Milan to sign for LAFC as a free agent this summer. At 37 years old, Giroud excelled for one of the biggest clubs in the world this past season, scoring 14 goals and eight assists in 2,274 Serie A minutes for Milan. His 14 goals are tied for fourth-most in the league, two ahead of USMNT star Christian Pulisic.
LAFC first decided Giroud was its top option at center forward last fall, and initially explored signing him in January. That was a non-starter, leaving LAFC to decide if it made sense to move onto other targets that were available in January or wait until the summer for Giroud. Clearly, they opted for the latter.
The French forward will debut at some point this summer, though there isn’t an exact target date as of yet. Giroud, France’s all-time leading scorer with 57 goals in 131 appearances, will first represent his country at the 2024 European Championships. France is among the favorites at that tournament, and the final is set for July 14. The summer transfer window in MLS opens on July 18, so the first game Giroud would be technically available for is against the Seattle Sounders on July 20.
But his debut date will depend on how far Les Blues progress and how much time off LAFC and Giroud decides he needs in order to keep him fresh through a potential MLS playoff run in December.
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Whenever he does make his first appearance, Giroud figures to give LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo an ideal option in attack. The club’s game model is one that relies on a complete forward who can drop in between the lines and combine. That has been the priority to such a degree that LAFC has spent the vast majority of recent seasons with a non-natural center forward playing the position, most often Carlos Vela in 2023 and Mateusz Bogusz this season.
While Giroud is indeed a natural center forward, and has a more prototypical target man frame, he also has the technical ability of a false nine.
“For us, the combination of his skillset is what makes him so compelling,” Thorrington said. “We like strikers who can drop in and link up play. He’s very, very good at that. Our analysis is that he’s gotten even better at that as his incredible career has gone on. He’s such an intelligent footballer, there won’t be much of a learning curve.”
Giroud joins a potent LAFC attack that features winger and reigning MLS Golden Boot winner Denis Bouanga. Thorrington is thrilled about Giroud’s fit with him, as well as the club’s other attackers.
“For a winger with the 1-v-1 ability and verticality like Denis, you don’t need as much of that from your No. 9,” Thorrington said. “What you do need is the ability to combine, create and get on the end of things. … Olivier is going to demand a lot of attention from defenders that will only help our wingers and our No. 8s in the attack.”
Even better, LAFC can still add another designated player this summer in addition to Giroud and Bouanga. Off the field, all the information LAFC received indicated that Giroud would be an asset for the locker room, club culture and leadership.
“When you talk to people to gather intel on a player, and the first thing they say is he’s great for the team, it’s the best possible thing to hear,” Thorrington said. “Like, I can see his quality for myself. But when people tell us about how well he unites the team, how great of a leader is— It’s really validating.”
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Thorrington also spoke glowingly of Giroud’s “remarkable humility” despite all that he’s accomplished. In addition to being France’s all-time leading scorer, Giroud won the World Cup (2018), Champions League (2021) and league titles in Italy (2022) and France (2012).
LAFC has made back-to-back MLS Cup finals, winning the title in 2022 as well as the Supporters’ Shield. The club’s 2024 campaign has been up and down so far, but it still sits fifth in the Western Conference after 12 matches, just four points from first place.
Giroud will provide quite the midseason boost as the club looks to add to its growing trophy collection Giroud, too, if he can find space in his cabinet.
(Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)