Kalou agrees Lille switch

French newspaper L’Equipe reveals that Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou is set to sign a deal with Lille.



The 26-year-old has been a free agent since his contract at Stamford Bridge expired on 30th June, but he didn’t need a lot of time to find a new club.



According to L’Equipe, Kalou arrived in Lille yesterday evening, accompanied by his brother and agent Bonaventure, the former PSG player.



The player agreed a four-year deal with the French giants and after successfully passing a medical he is now expected to sign for les Dogues.



Kalou will receive a large signing bonus seeing that he arrives on a free transfer and he is expected to replace Joe Cole in the starting line-up, after the Englishman returned to Liverpool.



The Ivorian forward will see a move to Stade Lille Metropole as an opportunity to get his career back on track following several disappointing seasons at Stamford Bridge.

Kalou and Bosingwa Leave Chelsea

Salomon Kalou and Jose Bosingwa left Chelsea as free agents Sunday after their contracts expired.



Both ended their time at the club on a high, playing in Chelsea's Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich in May.



Striker Didier Drogba was allowed to leave by the club, and signed for Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua earlier this month.



Ivorian winger Kalou, 26, spent six years at Chelsea, while Portuguese right-back Bosingwa, 29, spent four years at the London side.



Kalou has been linked with Arsenal, but no club has made a public offer for either of the free agents.



Kalou has scored 18 times in 49 appearances for the Ivory Coast, while Bosingwa has 24 caps but not made himself available for selection for Portugal since November 2011 following a disagreement with Portugal coach Paulo Bento.

Kalou would consider Reds

Salomon Kalou would be willing to consider a summer move to Liverpool, according to the forward’s agent.



But new Reds boss Brendan Rodgers – who worked with the Ivorian whilst a coach at Chelsea – is yet to make any formal move for the striker, who is out of contract at Stamford Bridge.



Kalou’s Chelsea deal expired last month, bringing to an end his six-year spell in west London.



He has since been linked with a host of clubs, with Liverpool, Newcastle United and German side Schalke 04 among those credited with an interest in the 26-year-old.



Liverpool have so far kept their summer transfer targets close to their chest, as Rodgers settles into his new role after replacing Kenny Dalglish earlier this month.



They were unwilling to comment on a potential move for Kalou.



But the player’s agent, Rodger Linse, confirmed to the ECHO that a switch to Anfield would be an appealing prospect to the former Feyenoord man, though was keen to stress that there was “nothing concrete” to report at this stage.



Linse said: “There are conversations going on, and of course when that is happening then you must be careful what you say.



“Liverpool can speak for themselves, and Schalke can speak for themselves. That is fine.



“Of course Liverpool is a very big club, in terms of support and in terms of history.



“It is definitely positive to hear that a big club like them are showing an interest in Salomon, though it is too early to say anything definitive at this stage.”



Kalou, who can play anywhere across the forward line, made a total of 244 appearances during his six years at Chelsea, scoring 60 goals despite rarely being a first-team regular.



He did, however, start in both the FA Cup final success over Liverpool, and the Champions League final win against Bayern Munich at the back end of last season, though the Londoners opted not to offer him a new deal in the aftermath.



Huub Stevens, the Schalke manager, had claimed earlier this week that Kalou was eager to leave England, and that the Bundesliga may be an attractive proposition. Linse, though, insists that his client would have no problem remaining in the Premier League if the right offer came along.



“He has been very happy at Chelsea,” he added.



“He is a player with ambition, and he has managed to satisfy a lot of those ambitions over the last few years.



“He never quite made it to be a guaranteed starter with Chelsea, but his statistics were always good, and he won lots of trophies there.



“In many ways it will be difficult to find a better place to be, but he is open-minded, and would be happy to continue in England if the right club comes in.”