Chelsea continues their summer spending spree by adding a 7th signing to the tally. Rennes goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy joins Chelsea on a 5-year deal. This move puts doubt over the future of current Chelsea GK Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has underperformed following his £72 million transfer from LaLiga side Athletic Club Bilbao back in 2018. It is unlikely to see Kepa in a different shirt anytime soon, due to his fees and wages proving too hefty for other clubs.
About a week ago, Mendy had completed his medical but was supposedly called back since the final fee was not finalized. The deal is now confirmed though, and Mendy is now a Chelsea player. The deal was announced by the Premier League club across their website as well as their social media accounts.
Edouard Mendy joins Chelsea: Contract Details
As Edouard Mendy joins Chelsea, the premier league club will pay around £26 million (£22 million + add ons) to Rennes as they complete a 5 year deal for the Senegalese goalkeeper. Talks were on-going all month, with the Ligue 1 side wanting to either secure a higher fee or securing a swap deal. At a point of time, Fikayo Tomori was proposed was on loan by Rennes, however, Chelsea was reluctant to let the 22-year-old leave. The people involved in the recruitment process were former Chelsea legend Petr Cech and the Head of the goalkeeper department, Christophe Lollichon.
Edouard Mendy: Career at a glance
Now that Edouard Mendy joins Chelsea, let’s have a look back at his career. Since he was just 13 years old, Mendy has always been left behind the pecking order, with another talent always in front of him. Mendy joined the youth academy of Le Havre AC at the age of 13. After being stuck behind Zacharie Boucher in the talent pool, Mendy dropped down levels to play with CS Municipaux Le Havre.
He started his professional career at AS Cherboug and stayed there until the Summer of 2014. Then, Marseille decided to sign him, but once again, Mendy was stuck behind another talent which reduced his playing time. In the 2016/17 season, Mendy joined Ligue 2 side, Reims, in search of regular first-team football. Finally, Mendy managed to fix his role, as he helped his side win the Ligue 2 title, and get promoted to the Ligue 1 in the 2017/18 season.
On the 6th of August 2019, Mendy signed for Rennes for an undisclosed fee. The Senegalese stopper played as the first choice goalkeeper at Rennes for the entirety of the 19/20 season and the start of the 20/21 season. His total stats were nothing short of spectacular with 12 clean sheets in 34 appearances for Rennes having a save per 90 ratios of 1.7.
What change can the Senegalese shot-stopper bring to Stamford Bridge
Edouard Mendy will be looking to replace the Blues’ current first-choice goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga. In the previous season, the Spanish goalkeeper conceded a whopping 58 goals in all competitions in 48 games, giving him an average of 1.39 goals conceded per 90. This unwanted record has caused many problems for the Chelsea side and that is what Edouard Mendy will be looking to improve during his tenure at Chelsea.
Also, the addition of a new Goalkeeper should provide some competition for Kepa and for Mendy as well. Hopefully, this new addition will add some quality between the posts for the Blues side. For Mendy, this should be a time to prove his capabilities as a goalkeeper in order to gain more playing time at Stamford Bridge.
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