In a recent report, Sky Sports has revealed that Chelsea are on the brink of completing the capture of Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy this summer. Later, BBC has reported that the Blues have agreed on a deal with the French club for the Senegalese custodian as Frank Lampard looks to recruit him to add more competition for Kepa Arrizabalaga and Willy Caballero.
Mendy’s Recent Emergence At The Roazhon Park
The Montivilliers-born goalie enjoyed an impressive season in France after producing a run of eye-catching performances in goal for the Britanny-based outfit. Mendy managed to appear in 33 matches for Rennes in the previous campaign, shipping in 31 goals and securing 13 cleansheets across various competitions.
The 28-year-old has made a strong start to this Ligue 1 campaign by helping his team secure a 1-1 draw away at LOSC Lille last month. However, he has been out of Julien Stéphan’s squad since then as he was inching closer towards a potential move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
Chelsea’s 2-0 loss at the hands of the Premier League champions Liverpool on Sunday was partly down to their first-choice goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga making a couple of poor errors while operating in between the sticks. Hence, the addition of Mendy will be a welcome one for the Blues as they look to bounce back by finding some consistency in terms of their results in the English top-flight.
What Will The Senegalese Custodian Bring To West London?
Mendy was one of the standout goalkeepers in the Ligue 1 in the 2019-20 campaign as he made a plethora of important saves for Rennes while using his quick reflexes and strong palms to get the ball away from the danger area. Standing at 1.97m, the seven-time Senegalese international can dominate his penalty area with authority and conviction but needs to improve his ball-distribution after completing only 70.1% of his attempted passes in the French first division last season (stats via whoscored).
Will Recruiting Mendy Be A Good Move For The Blues?
Mendy will undeniably keep both Arrizabalaga and Caballero on their toes in the race to secure a regular starting place in Frank Lampard’s first-team in the coming seasons. The France-born goalie is even good enough to earn regular starts in the Premier League as long as he can cope with the physical and fast-paced nature of English football.
Plus, Mendy will enhance the quality of the Chelsea first-team significantly, which might help them challenge for some major trophies in the years to come. However, Lampard would have to be patient with the Senegalese keeper if he wants to get the best out of him in the long-run. With all things considered, it will be a decent move for the West London outfit to bring Mendy in ahead of what could be a decisive few weeks for them in the Premier League.
