Salomon Kalou to come out of retirement

Salomon Kalou is set to come out of international retirement and make his Ivory Coast comeback in an upcoming friendly against the Netherlands.
Kalou retired from international football ahead of the 2017 African Nations Cup and at the time said the stage was for the younger players to take.

But with the club seasons in Europe coming to an end this month, and another set of international matches to be played in June, the 31-year-old Hertha Berlin attacker has decided to return to the Ivory Coast squad under new coach Marc Wilmots.
"I plan to play for my country in the World Cup qualifiers again," the 2012 Champions League winner with Chelsea told BZ.

"I am 31 now, have won the African Nations Cup, and played another final. My retirement was only for the African Nations Cup. I am currently making plans for the summer break."
With two matches played, the Elephants lead Group C of the African qualifiers after picking up four points in their matches against Mali and Morocco. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's Gabon also play in the group, with the two nations set to meet on August 28.

Before that, in early June, Ivory Coast will clash with the Netherlands, and BZ claim Wilmots has already spoken to Kalou about his availability for that occasion.
Kalou joined Hertha from Lille in the summer of 2014, and so far has made 95 appearances in all competitions, scoring 31 goals. Earlier this year he signed a new contract at the Olympiastadion through to 2019.

Hertha head coach Pal Dardai had concerns about Kalou's fitness following his trips to the national team in the past, and said he knows the forward's decision "is not easy".
"I have heard that Salomon wants to play for his country again," Dardai said. "I will talk to him after the Bundesliga final [day]. We need to decide together what's best for Hertha, Salomon and his future. His heart wants to play for the national team. Yet, he also needs to listen to his body, factor in the exertions. It's not an easy decision."

Hertha are in an automatic qualification place for the Europa League group stages with one match left to play, at home to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.