The Lille manager Rudi Garcia has said that the Lille fans should be showing a little bit of patience with respect to the former Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou, who has struggled for form since making his free transfer to the team in the summer.
The 26-year-old Ivory Coast international was released at the end of his six year spell with the London team in the summer. He decided to join the French club Lille after analysing various offers from clubs across Europe. However, he has not hit the heights the fans have expected due to a number of reasons.
The manager has now come in defence of the player by saying that he expects Salomon Kalou to come good eventually, but fans are expecting too much of him at this initial stage. Due to the fact that the Ivory Coast international is the number one striker at the club, the team has also struggled to score goals. As a result, they are currently in the 10th position, which has infuriated the fans. Lille won the French league title only last season, but they are in danger of not even qualify for the Champions League this season. Lille were recently defeated 1-0 by Bayern Munich.
“It is not only Kalou but Martin and Payet too. To compare them to Eden and Gervinho [who joined Arsenal after the 2011 title success], we need to look at the moment they joined the team, not the moment they left,” said Rudi Garcia. Since making the free transfer from Chelsea, Salomon Kalou has made seven appearances for the team and has scored just two goals. During his time with the London team, Kalou was largely a substitute. However, he did start the Champions League final against Bayern Munich and won it with Chelsea for the first time in his career.