Nigeria national team coach and former Bordeaux manager Gernot Rohr has thrown his weight behind Samuel Kalu to rediscover his form for the Ligue 1 side.
The 23-year-old has been with the Girondins since the summer of 2018 when he teamed up with the side from Belgian First Division club Gent.
The winger has featured in more than 40 league games for Bordeaux since his arrival at Matmut Atlantique.
Kalu is a consistent performer for the Nigeria national team under German tactician, Rohr, and has played in 13 games for the West African side since he made his debut against Libya in 2018.
The forward was one of the stand-out players for the Super Eagles at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, helping them to finish third in the tournament.
Kalu, however, struggled to replicate his eye-catching Super Eagles displays for the Girondins last season, starting 15 games and scoring only one goal for the side.
The forward, who has been linked with Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce this summer, is starting to enjoy more game time under manager Jean Louis Gasset.
The winger has featured in four league matches in the 2020-21 season, starting three of the outings and opened his account against Lens last time out.
Rohr has no doubt of the ability of the forward and has backed him to regain his confidence for the Girondins.
"There's this Kalu who is playing very, very well with me and Nigeria, who lost a bit of confidence last season," Rohr told Girondins magazine.
"It was not going very well with the staff from the previous season. There, he is trying to find a little of his means, both physical and moral.
"It is resurfacing. With the new staff, he will have more possibilities to play in his real position, which is the position of a pure winger, dribbler, centralizer, who can even score goals as he did with us.”
Rohr is hoping the 23-year-old will feature prominently when Bordeaux take on Nice in their next league game on Sunday.
"I hope to see him again on Sunday against Nice,” he continued.
Rohr has named Kalu in the Super Eagles squad that will take on African champions Algeria and Tunisia in friendlies next month.
