Thursday 28 August 2014 13:19, UK
Lille coach Rene Girard has admitted that Salomon Kalou is looking to leave the Ligue 1 club.
The former Chelsea forward joined the French club in the summer of 2012 on a free transfer.
Although the 29-year-old Ivory Coast international has been an important player for Lille in the past two seasons, he has publicly declared that he is eager to leave the Ligue 1 outfit before Monday’s transfer deadline day.
Kalou was left out of Lille’s squad for their UEFA Champions League second-leg play-off tie against Porto in Portugal on Tuesday which ended in a 2-0 win for the hosts.
The former Feyenoord star went to the game and was sat in the stands, but Girard hints that the player is unlikely to feature in his team any more this season.
“I want to have players with a free state of mind for the competitions we are playing in,” he told L’Equipe. “It was not the case with Kalou.
“I don’t push anyone to the exit door. I have no say in what happens with Kalou. It is his own decision to leave.
“Why did Kalou come to Porto to remain in the stands? For reasons that I don’t want to speak about in public.
“I believe it was good that he was present in the group. Other things will remain between us. There is no problem. Things just have to be sorted out in one way or the other."
