Who Is Édouard Mendy? The Inside Scoop From France

Chelsea's summer spending spree has been difficult to follow at times. The Blues have been throwing money around for the last few months, bringing in Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Malang Sarr.

Remarkably, Chelsea aren't done just yet. Finding a new goalkeeper to compete with Kepa Arrizabalaga is high on manager Frank Lampard's agenda, and the boss has been tipped to move for a whole host of big names.

Jan Oblak and Marc-André ter Stegen were the two standout suggestions, with plenty of attention also given to André Onana, Nick Pope and Gianluigi Donnarumma, but it appears as though Lampard has settled on a player whose reputation in England could hardly be smaller - Rennes' Édouard Mendy.

The 28-year-old has never played a single minute of club football outside France and brings just two seasons of Ligue 1 experience to the table, so it's safe to say that he's not one of the more well-known goalkeepers on the radar.

To find out more about Mendy, we spoke to our French football expert - 90min's very own Kristen Collie - to get the low-down on a player who could well be Chelsea's number one next season.


So, Just Who the Heck Is He?

Édouard Mendy is a 28-year-old goalkeeper who has been playing for Rennes since the start of the 2018/19 season.

He is the perfect example of a late developer in football, only signing his first professional contract when he was 24 years old. Rejected by many clubs at the beginning of his career, he is now one of the best in Ligue 1. 

Though he was born in France, he represents Senegal at international level and was a runner-up at the 2019 African Cup of Nations.


How Was His Time in France?