Grading every Chelsea signing of the summer transfer window

7. Edouard Mendy

While every Chelsea fan had a preference at who the club signed at goalkeeper, we all had one thing in common: whichever shot-stopper that was brought in would become everyone’s godsend. After a successful season under Sarri, Kepa Arrizabalaga emerged as one of the Premier League’s up and coming stars and the next long-term solution between the sticks at Stamford Bridge. Nobody could have imagined how poorly things would go for the Spaniard in his sophomore campaign, however.

Arrizabalaga broke the kind of records nobody wants their name on. The 26-year-old conceded a whopping 8 percent of Chelsea’s Premier League goals since the league’s inaugural season (1992) in two short years. Supporters called for his head and despite getting chance after chance, he made catastrophic error after catastrophic error. Perhaps it was the expectations that come with being the world’s most expensive keeper or the stress of having two managers in two years who played two different styles. Perhaps Arrizabalaga isn’t as good as once advertised, either. Whatever the case many be, it was evident the Blues needed a change.

The rumors were tossed around regarding Jan Oblak and Gianluigi Donnarumma, but Petr Cech and Lampard honed in on a Senegalese goalkeeper hanging around Cech’s old stomping ground. Rennes’ Mendy became Chelsea’s last signing of the summer to the relief of all involved parties, except for Arrizabalaga—but that goes without saying. Before diving into the transfer itself, Arrizabalaga’s continued professionalism throughout the situation must be noted. For an individual under intense scrutiny, he’s been everything you could ask of a player (in terms of character) and then some.

Despite being two years older than Arrizabalaga, the future of Chelsea rests in Mendy’s massive hands. The Senegal international made the move from Ligue 1 to England’s top flight for £22 million. While the fee isn’t hefty, the expectations aren’t either. Mendy represents a rather inexpensive solution; a low risk, high reward move for the Blues. He’s started his Chelsea career off with a bang by being one little Emerson mistake away from consecutive clean sheets. If he continues down this path, he’ll be one of the most important individuals for Lampard this year.

Grade: B+

What grades would you give each signing? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!