3-way transfer: Batshuayi to Dortmund on loan, Giroud in Chelsea and Auba at Arsenal

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London, January 31: Chelsea have allowed striker Michy Batshuayi to join Borussia Dortmund on a loan deal to the end of the season. Olivier Giroud left Arsenal to join Chelsea for a reported £18million, ending the club's long hunt for a new centre-forward.

This completes the three-way transfer among Chelsea, Arsenal and Dortmund after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined the Gunners.

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Although Batshuayi has scored 10 goals in all competitions for Chelsea this season, he struggled to displace first-choice striker Alvaro Morata for Premier League matches, starting only three games.

And with Dortmund struggling for form following the club-record sale of Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona, the Bundesliga side have moved to bring in Batshuayi on loan.

Antonio Conte's desire to add another attacking option to his squad led to Chelsea being linked with a host of unlikely players, including Andy Carroll, Ashley Barnes and Peter Crouch, while an attempted deal for Roma's Edin Dzeko failed.

But with Giroud struggling for game-time at Arsenal and with the World Cup approaching, the Premier League champions swooped to secure the 31-year-old on an 18-month contract.

Giroud, who hit 73 Premier League goals at Arsenal in his five and a half years at the club following a 2012 move from Montpellier, has started one league game this season.

The France striker was increasingly marginalised at Emirates Stadium following the club-record arrival of his compatriot Alexandre Lacazette, who joined from Lyon, and his chances of making the starting XI receded further with Wednesday's signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund.