The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 to secure a move to the 2011 French champions who have been keeping tabs on him for a long time
“Salomon Kalou is out of contract. Chelsea Football Club wishes to thank him and wish the best for a player who was a key member of the squad,” was the statement released by Chelsea last Sunday which formalised the departure of the striker.
After six years of loyal service to the London club, the Cote D’Ivoire international leaves Stamford Bridge as a free agent after his contract expired. Recently crowned a European Championship with Chelsea, Kalou chose not to extend his contract at the club
in a bid to kick-start his career elsewhere.
However, the situation was not as easy as it seems. At the age of 26, Kalou still has a lot to give to any team and with the experience of playing at the top level for both club and country, Kalou would have been a great bargain for any club in Europe.
Though Kalou has never been a regular starter during his time at Chelsea, the player was not short of suitors with the likes of Schalke 04, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 and Lille all keen on securing his services.
Kalou was certainly spoilt for choice but in the end, the Ivorian has chosen to go for Ligue 1 giants LOSC Lille who have been in the market for a new striker for quite some time. In the month of June, it was believed that the player had reached a pre-contractual
agreement with Les Dogues.
The player arrived in Lille this Friday and pending a medical inspection, the player is all but guaranteed of playing under Rudi Garcia for next season.
Kalou was snapped up by Chelsea in 2006 after spending three prolific seasons at Dutch outfit http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Frank-Lampard-c14097 and it seems
that a move to Lille will help the player regain some lost confidence.
Tags: