Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy is not the solution between the sticks

Chelsea’s new Senegalese Goalkeeper started impressively but has found struggles in recent times. Why isn’t he the solution long-term?

I want to preface this with a disclaimer: my dubious views on Edouard Mendy’s recent struggles should not be taken as a sign that Kepa Arrizabalaga should go back to being Frank Lampard’s No. 1. Mendy is still the best keeper at the club by some margin and that is said with no disrespect to Arrizabalaga or Willy Caballero. Mendy is the first choice, as he should remain to be. However, his recent mistakes against Everton and Leeds United specifically, coupled with a poor performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers, leave a lot to be desired for someone who’s meant to be Chelsea’s long-term No. 1.

Mendy cannot be the long-term answer if he’s going to continue to make the brash mistakes he has done. Now, I’m not saying that he’s a poor keeper—in fact, he’s been very impressive—but he needs to cut the errors out. The start to his Chelsea career particularly reminds me of the start of Arrizabalaga’s. It was very good, but due to the low standards set before Mendy’s arrival, he’s getting heaps of praise while really not doing all too much.

He has played 10 matches for the Blues and yes, he has six clean sheets, but he only has 15 saves. That’s not a heavy workload. Just to clarify, all of these stats are limited to the Premier League so far, this does not include the Carabao Cup game against Spurs, or his Champions League campaign so far. He’s dealt with what he’s had to, but he’s not exactly stolen a win for his team so far. The game against Manchester United at Old Trafford was a fantastic performance. Praise where it is due, he cannot be looked at as the lord and savior though.

I get that he may still lose the mistakes from his game, and if he does that, I will be wrong. Nothing would make me happier than this piece being wrong. I do not want to talk about Chelsea’s issues in goal anymore because ever since the sale of Thibaut Courtois, goalkeeping has been an issue. It’s been a struggle to maintain the same quality of performance the squad had with the Belgian. Now, Courtois was one of the world’s best at the end of his Blues tenure, so it’s a tough measuring stick. However, at a club like Chelsea, that is the set standard. Mendy’s emerging errors make it difficult to see him reaching that same level. His start was great, as I mentioned, but it wasn’t due to his excellence.

Largely, Mendy’s early success at Stamford Bridge is due to the emerging defense. A defence that allows three shots every two games is one that a goalkeeper owes a great deal of gratitude to. Mendy’s workload has been very limited and he’s not been truly tested so far. Am I basing this off a sample size way too small to draw a reasonable conclusion? Oh yes, but, based on the evidence provided so far, he’s not the answer. He’s never going to be held in the same esteem as the guys like Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen or Jan Oblak.

Speaking of Jan Oblak, his release clause is around £130 million if the club decided they wanted a goalkeeper as good as anyone in the world right now. He would be someone who doesn’t make stupid mistakes, makes saves you wouldn’t expect him to. Now, this doesn’t mean Oblak would walk into the Chelsea No. 1 job and become an instant hero. That is very unlikely, but not impossible. However, there’s no denying Oblak has already proven himself elite at the Champions League level, and he’s already playing against one of the best players of all-time in La Liga. Mendy is a fine goalkeeper. I don’t mean to cast any disapproval in his abilities, I’m just saying that there are alternative options that could be acquired should the need to still be present during the January transfer window.

I don’t want to be that guy that thinks Mendy isn’t good enough. However, his recent mistakes are undeniably costing the team. Without his calamity of a “tackle” against Everton, the Blues at least come away with a point. I’m not going to sit here and rent a plane to write “Mendy out” over the stadium as that would be a gigantic waste of money. It’s just evident that the mistakes of Mendy are becoming more prevalent. And they may need to be expunged from his game.