LILLE SNAP UP KALOU

Lille has signed former Chelsea midfielder, Salomon Kalou, on a four year contract. The deal got finalized after Kalou passed a medical test. Before joining Lille, Kalou used to play for Chelsea. His contract with Chelsea got completed in July 2012 and he was released by Chelsea. He had been looking for a new club since then.

Kalou was a key member of the Chelsea side. He has been with Chelsea since the last six years. He played 254 matches for Chelsea in which he scored 60 goals. Kalou’s first goal for Chelsea was against Blackburn Rovers in a match of the League Cup. He impressed one and all in his very first season for Chelsea. Jose Mourinho, the manager of Chelsea at that time, had praised Kalou for his versatility and hard working nature.

After signing the contract, Kalou said that he is pretty happy to join Lille. As per Kalou, he could not have found a better club than Lille in France. He said that he had seen quite a lot of matches of Lille in the previous season and the performance of Lille was impressive. Eden hazard left Lille this summer and Kalou would probably fill his spot in the team.

Meanwhile, Rudi Garcia, the manager of Lille, has said that Kalou is a highly talented player. Kalou played his first match for Lille against Benfica a few days back. That was a friendly match. The match ended in a draw. Kalou came to play as substitute in the second half of the match. Garcia seemed to be quite happy with the performance of Kalou in that match. As per Garcia, Kalou performed decently in that match. But, at the same time, he also said that Kalou has to work a bit on his fitness.