Salomon Kalou – Just how is he doing in France? (Video)
By the time Salomon Kalou was being nudged off the Stamford Bridge, there was nary a sniffle of regret nor a smile of contentment. Such was the indifference the Jeckyll and Hyde nature of the forward had induced in Chelsea fans.
He arrived at the Bridge in 2006 on the back of a cracking spell at Feyenoord where his partnership with Dirk Kuyt was the scourge of Eredivise defences. In his two seasons at the Rotterdam club, the Ivorian contributed 35 goals and numerous assists, convincing The Special One he was worth the almost £10 million the club forked out for his services. Though Kalou carried over his sparkling form to Chelsea in a strong start, he soon found himself fleeting in and out of the Blues starting XI. Though he had a knack for scoring crucial goals, he had trouble producing the kind of consistency that endeared his compatriot Didier Drogba to Chelsea fans. His decision making in the final third was simply infuriating at times.
It therefore came as no surprise when Kalou was among the victims of the 2012 summer clear-out at Chelsea. As a result Kalou, like Joe Cole a season before, found himself heading across the channel to play for Ligue 1 outfit Lille. Though it took some convincing to get the Cote d’Ivoire international to join their ranks, LOSC are doubtless glad they took the trouble. The former Chelsea number 21 has found the net 13 times so far this season. His last two goals, scored against Stade de Reims this Friday, took Lille back into European contention in fourth place on the table.
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