Édouard Mendy

Édouard Osoque Mendy (born 1 March 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Chelsea and the Senegal national team. Born in France, he represents Senegal at international level. He signed for Chelsea in 2020.

Édouard Mendy
Mendy with Chelsea in 2020
Personal information
Full name Édouard Osoque Mendy[1]
Date of birth (1992-03-01) 1 March 1992[2]
Place of birth Montivilliers, France
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)[3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 16
Youth career
1999–2005 Le Havre Caucriauville
2005–2006 Le Havre
2006–2011 CS Municipaux Le Havre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Cherbourg 26 (0)
2015–2016 Marseille B 8 (0)
2016–2019 Reims 80 (0)
2017 Reims B 1 (0)
2019–2020 Rennes 25 (0)
2020– Chelsea 17 (0)
National team‡
2018– Senegal 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:19, 31 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:02, 15 November 2020 (UTC)

Early life

Mendy was born in Montivilliers, Seine-Maritime.[4]

Club career

Early career

Mendy joined the youth academy of Le Havre AC at the age of 13.[5] After being stuck behind Zacharie Boucher in the talent pool, Mendy dropped down levels to play with CS Municipaux Le Havre.[5] He started his professional career at AS Cherbourg, who were then in the Championnat National, the third tier of the French football league system. He stayed in Cherbourg until the summer of 2014, after which he was without a club for a year.[6] "I did genuinely have my doubts about whether I would carry on," Mendy said in a later interview.[7] At the age of 22, Mendy registered for unemployment and began to look for jobs outside of football.[7] However, in 2015, Mendy was recommended to fill a goalkeeping vacancy at Marseille by friend and former teammate Ted Lavie. After one phone call with the academy goalkeeping coach, Dominique Bernatowicz, Marseille signed Mendy as their fourth choice goalkeeper.[8] He played the 2015–16 season on Marseille's reserve team, primarily as a backup to Florian Escales.[5]

Reims

In search of regular playing time, Mendy joined Reims during the 2016–17 Ligue 2 season.[5] On the opening day of the season, Mendy made his debut when Reims' starting goalkeeper Johann Carrasso was sent five minutes into the match against Amiens. Mendy went on to keep three clean sheets over his next seven games.[5] The next season, Mendy cemented his role as the starting goalkeeper on a team for the first time, as he helped Reims win the 2017–18 Ligue 2 title as they were promoted to Ligue 1 for the following season.[5] Mendy kept 18 clean sheets in his 34 appearances over the course of the season.[9] In the 2018–19 season, Mendy played in all 38 Ligue 1 games, as newly promoted Reims soared to an eighth-place finish. Mendy kept fourteen clean sheets, the third highest of any goalkeeper in the league.[10]

Rennes

On 6 August 2019, Rennes announced they had signed Mendy from Reims for an undisclosed fee rumored to be in the region of €4 million, replacing departing goalkeeper Tomáš Koubek.[11][12] Mendy made his debut on Matchday 3 against Strasbourg after recovering from a broken finger. He saved a penalty to preserve a clean sheet as Rennes won 2–0 at the Stade de la Meinau.[5] Mendy went on to keep nine clean sheets in 24 league matches for Rennes in a season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping them to a third-place finish and qualification for the UEFA Champions League.[10]

Chelsea

On 24 September 2020, Chelsea announced they had signed Mendy on a five-year contract for a fee reported to be £22 million.[13][14] Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard revealed that former Chelsea goalkeeper and current Technical Advisor, Petr Čech (who coincidentally also joined Chelsea from Rennes), played a prominent role in the decision to sign Mendy.[15] On 29 September 2020, Mendy made his debut for the club against Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the EFL Cup, which Chelsea lost 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.[16] Mendy made his Premier League debut on 3 October, keeping a clean sheet in Chelsea's 4–0 victory over Crystal Palace.[17] His clean sheet against Burnley on 31 October made him the first Chelsea goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in their first three Premier League matches since Petr Čech in 2004.[18] With a clean sheet in the club's next match, a 3–0 win against Mendy's former club Rennes in the Champions League, Chelsea recorded five consecutive shutouts for the first time in a decade.[19]

Mendy is currently the only African goalkeeper in the Premier League, and the first since Carl Ikeme played for Wolves in the 2011–12 season.[20]

International career

Mendy was born to a Senegalese mother and a Bissau-Guinean father. In November 2016, he was called up by Guinea-Bissau to play friendly matches against Portuguese clubs Belenenses and Estoril.[21] At the time, his father was very ill and was about to pass away, leading Mendy to honour him playing for the Bissau-Guinean national team.[22] Shortly after, he was shortlisted by Guinea-Bissau to play the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for them,[23] but he ultimately rejected the call and pledged his future to Senegal.[22]

Mendy made his debut for Senegal in a 1–0 win over Equatorial Guinea on 18 November 2018.[24] Mendy went on to become Senegal's first choice goalkeeper leading up to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He started in both Senegal's opening two group stage matches, a 2–0 win over Tanzania and a 1–0 defeat to Algeria. However, he was injured during the warmups before Senegal's final group stage match against Kenya, and was forced to withdraw from the squad with a broken finger as Senegal would go on to lose in the final 1–0 to Algeria.[25]

Style of play

Mendy has been described as a physically dominant goalkeeper who exerts a strong influence in the defensive third.[10] In the 2019–20 season with Rennes, Mendy recorded a 75.3% save success rate, the highest in Ligue 1, averaging 2.5 saves per game. In the same season, Mendy completed 51.4% of his passes over 40 yards, the same as Ederson, who is highly regarded for his kicking ability.[26] Mendy is an aerially assertive goalkeeper, frequently coming off his line to claim crosses. He is also very vocal, often organizing his defenders' positioning.[10][27] Upon his arrival at Chelsea, former manager Frank Lampard noted his positive attitude saying, "It seems his personality is pretty laid-back with a tough edge when it comes to work. He is very low maintenance … and he is eager to engage with his team-mates and myself. He has a smile on his face so it’s a real positive when you have a player that comes in and hits the ground running on the pitch and in the dressing room."[28]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 31 January 2021[29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cherbourg 2011–12 Championnat National 500000——50
2012–13 Championnat National 300000——30
2013–14 CFA 1800000——180
Total 2600000——260
Marseille B 2015–16 CFA 800000——80
Reims B 2016–17 CFA 100000——10
Reims 2016–17 Ligue 2 802010——110
2017–18 Ligue 2 3400000——340
2018–19 Ligue 1 3802010——410
Total 8004020——860
Rennes 2019–20 Ligue 1 24050004[lower-alpha 3]000330
2020–21 Ligue 1 1000—00—10
Total 25050004000340
Chelsea 2020–21 Premier League 17000105[lower-alpha 4]0—230
Career total 1570903090001780
  1. Includes Coupe de France
  2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International
As of match played on 15 November 2020[30]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Senegal 201810
201970
202020
Total100

Honours

Reims

Senegal

References
  1. "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  2. "Édouard Mendy: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  3. "Edouard Mendy". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  4. "Edouard Mendy: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  5. "Édouard Mendy: 5 things on the Rennes and Senegal goalkeeper". Ligue de Football Professionnel. 31 August 2020.
  6. "Mendy 'had doubts' during unemployment". BBC Sport. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  7. "Six Years After Being Without a Club, Edouard Mendy Is Chelsea's GK Savior". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  8. "From being unemployed to joining Chelsea - Mendy's downs and ups". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  9. "Ensemble, fêtons nos champions ! – Stade de Reims". Stade de Reims. 7 May 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  10. "Scouting Report: Édouard Mendy". Breaking The Lines. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  11. "Édouard Mendy nouveau gardien du Stade Rennais F.C." (in French). Stade Rennais F.C. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  12. "Chelsea can thank Cech for Mendy arrival and Rennes may pay the price". ESPN.com. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  13. "Chelsea transfer news: Edouard Mendy makes Chelsea move". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  14. "Chelsea sign goalkeeper from Rennes for £22m on five-year deal". Sky Sports. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  15. "Frank Lampard says Petr Cech had 'big say' in deal for Rennes goalkeeper". Sky Sports. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  16. "Chelsea boss Lampard pleased with Mendy debut despite Carabao Cup exit". Goal.com. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  17. "Chelsea 4–0 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  18. "Edouard Mendy is the first Chelsea goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in their first three Premier League games since Petr Čech in 2004. They've found a gem.💎". Twitter. Squawka Football. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  19. "Čech recommended Mendy above 30-40 others in Chelsea's 1.5-year-long goalkeeper search". SB Nation. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  20. "Mendy: The 4th African Goalkeeper To Join Premier League". The SportsNation. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  21. "Djurtus: Lista de convocados do para o amistoso com Belenenses e Estoril" (in Portuguese). Sou Djurtu. 12 November 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  22. "Stade de Reims- Edouard Mendy : "Le Sénégal ? Mon choix a toujours été de représenter cette sélection"" (in French). Galsenfoot. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2018. I was contacted by Guinea (Guinea-Bissau), it goes back to last winter (2016). I could have participated in the (2017) African Cup of Nations, but I finally declined this proposal. I was a little rushed to mention this possibility, I went through a personal period a little complicated, I almost lost my father, of Guinean (Bissau-Guinean) origin, who was very sick. This decision was to pleasure him, not really my choice. I have always wanted to represent Senegal, my mother's homeland. In difficult moments, we do not always take the necessary time for reflection and therefore not always the right decisions.
  23. "CAN 2017 – Guinée-Bissau : Une Première liste de 35 joueurs" (in French). Football 365. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  24. "Edward Mendy: "The competition between us is healthy"".
  25. "Afcon 2019: Senegal's Edouard Mendy ruled out of the rest of competition | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  26. Nalton, James (19 December 2017). "The Ederson Effect: The Story of a Goal Kick". World Football Index. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  27. "Who is Edouard Mendy? Strengths and weaknesses of Chelsea's new number one". www.whoscored.com. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  28. "'He has a smile on his face and a great work ethic' - Lampard discusses Mendy". chelseafc.com. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  29. "Édouard Mendy". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  30. Édouard Mendy at National-Football-Teams.com
  31. "Stade Reims - Squad 2017/2018". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  32. Rose, Gary (19 July 2019). "Senegal 0–1 Algeria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.