The first season for the 21-year-old Ivorian at Stamford Bridge was mildly successful as he bagged seven goals and assisted on five more in 1931 minutes played. Though seemingly a 'transition' year, Kalou would fail to improve much on those numbers for his remaining stay with the Blues. He would only manage 36 goals and 25 assists in 156 league appearances and was let go on a free to Lille.
Unfortunately, Ligue 1 hasn't treated him much better:
| npgp90 | gcp90 | ccp90 | ap90 | ccv | |
| 2013-14 | 0.32 | 0.64 | 1.57 | 0.17 | 11.1 |
| 2012-13 | 0.53 | 0.7 | 1.27 | 0.12 | 9.7 |
| pass% | bp% | sacc% | shot% | TTI90 | |
| 2013-14 | 75.9 | 47.9 | 48.9 | 17 | 15.8 |
| 2012-13 | 75.6 | 45.7 | 46.5 | 19.7 | 17.9 |
| gap90 | gsp90 | gop90 | tgop | gopd90 | |
| 2013-14 | 0.7 | 1.28 | 0.58 | 0.53 | 0.05 |
| 2012-13 | 0.9 | 1.76 | 0.86 | 0.5 | 0.36 |
He has scored 30 goals in 66 matches, 6 of those were penalties though. His passing is painfully average, he turns over the ball too frequently, and his chance created values are nothing to get excited about. At 29, Kalou is the poster boy for 'unreached potential'.
The Liverpool is somehow linked to Kalou, but I don't think he's even worth the pitch time on a free. I'd rather see Ibe get more playing time than waste it on a 29-year-old forward who couldn't prove his worth in six seasons at Chelsea.
