Transfer news: West Ham target Salomon Kalou could be heading back to London as Hammers identify need for strikers

Reports in France claim West Ham have made a £3m bid for Kalou after he left Chelsea last year to join Lille

Jack de Menezes
Tuesday 30 July 2013 11:59 BST
Comments
Salomon Kalou could be heading to West Ham from his current club Lille
Salomon Kalou could be heading to West Ham from his current club Lille (GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Salomon Kalou could be on his way back to England after West Ham made an offer for the former Chelsea forward.

Reports in French newspaper L’Equipe suggest West Ham have made a bid worth €3.5m (£3m) to bring the Ivorian back to London, after he joining French club Lille last summer on a free transfer.

Having appeared predominantly on the wing during his time with Chelsea, Kalou made 28 league appearances last season, scoring 14 goals as well as representing the Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations.

West Ham are short on strikers despite the £15m signing of Andy Carroll from Liverpool, with the England striker having spent last season on-loan with the Hammers. They saw Marouane Chamakh return to Arsenal, Wellington Paulista return to Cruzeiro and released Carlton Cole on a free, meaning Modibo Maiga is the only other striker currently on their books.

Whether Kalou would want to leave Lille is a different matter though, having spent just one season there in which he has settled well, going on to have an impressive second half of the season.

Lille manager Rene Giraud expects to have Kalou once the season is underway, although L’Equipe suggest that any sale of Kalou could fund the signings of a new defender and attacker.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in