Chelsea did not have a solidified No. 1 goalkeeper heading into the 2020/21 Premier League season. The Blues were coming off a campaign in which they finished in fourth in the table, four points ahead of Leicester City. The transfer ban during the summer of 2019 caused young players to rise in the ranks of the club, but after it was lifted, former Blues manager Frank Lampard took advantage. The best signing from that window was Senegalese shot-stopper Edouard Mendy.
Chelsea paid over £200 million in 2020 to bring in stellar players from all over the top leagues in Europe. Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Mendy, came to west London with a mission to take this club to new heights in both England and Europe. Chilwell has proven to be an essential piece, Havertz has blossomed into a lethal No. 9, Werner has been a seesaw player throughout his time at Stamford Bridge and Ziyech has shown his worth with his magical left foot. Meanwhile, six-foot-six keeper has been in a class of his own. Mendy has quickly become an invaluable asset in Thomas Tuchel’s talented team.
In addition to victories in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations, Mendy has brought home a fair few individual accolades, as well. The now 30-year-old has won numerous awards thus far since joining Chelsea. This includes the UCL Goalkeeper of the Season (2020/21), the Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper (’21) and AFCON Best Goalkeeper (’21). Mendy has also been named into the UCL Squad of the Season and he made the AFCON Team of the Tournament.
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has become an invaluable asset to Chelsea
Perhaps the position that Chelsea needed the most was an elite player between the sticks. Former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga let in a jaw-dropping 47 goals in 33 appearances in the 2019/20 Premier League season. He was supposed to be the perfect replacement for Thibaut Courtois, who had been in SW6 since 2014 before departing to what was supposed to be greener pastures at Real Madrid. Arrizabalaga proved that he was not the answer as the starting keeper going forward, and Mendy was brought in to change the narrative.
Mendy has played 55 Premier League matches since coming to the team in September 2020. He finished second in the league in shutouts with 16—behind only Manchester City’s Ederson—in the his debut league campaign. He has put together 25 clean sheets in those 55 appearances in the league. It has been a miraculous turnaround at the goalkeeper position that helped the Blues reach the pinnacle of European football in May of 2021. The goalscoring of some of those transfers is invaluable, but the way Mendy got to west London is a story of determination and belief about not listening to the negative noise around you.
Five years before Mendy joined the Blues, nobody wanted him. He started in the fifth division in France and just kept his head down and worked until the opportunity presented itself to him. He helped Stade de Reims get promoted to Ligue 1 in France before assisting Rennes in finishing third in the top flight. A year later, the club sold him to Chelsea for six times what it paid for him the previous season. Coming into a position as the No. 1 keeper at Chelsea is not an easy job, and the Senegal star took every chance to savor what he knew was something he would have never thought was imaginable just a few years prior when he found himself in the unemployment line.
No transfer from the summer of 2020 had a more tumultuous road to get to where they are today than Mendy. He has been that stable force in the back, leading the Blues to one of the best defenses in all of Europe during his time so far in blue. Mendy is a vocal leader who has saved the Blues from more goals than they can count.
Arrizabalaga’s turnaround this season has a lot to do with Mendy and since he took over the starting spot, the Spanish keeper has demonstrated that his value has not completely vanished. Mendy’s value is priceless though. His attitude off the pitch and the way he made the transition from France so seamlessly is more than remarkable. In the position that has arguably the most pressure in the world at one of the most demanding clubs on Earth, Mendy has been nothing but world class in everything that he does.
Mendy has become a force in net for both Chelsea and Senegal. Even though he received the aforementioned individual awards, a lot of disrespect has been thrown his way on the world stage. Mendy may have not started his career at AC Milan like Gianluigi Donnarumma did. However, what he has proven to the world is that no matter the obstacle or what people may say about someone, it is the heart and desire of that individual that always wins out. Mendy will start between the sticks for Senegal this week against Egypt once again in World Cup Qualifying. As the world watches, the Blues have the pleasure to call him their own.
Do you think Mendy is the world’s best goalkeeper? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!