Chelsea are set to sign Senegal international goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from Rennes, with the 28 year old goalkeeper already agreeing a five year deal with the Blues.
According to transfer expert Ian McGarry, Mendy won’t necessarily replace Kepa Arrizabalaga as no.1 goalkeeper at Chelsea but the Senegalese international is being brought in to challenge Arrizabalaga and get him back playing to his best.
“The idea is that Mendy will not necessarily replace Kepa as the first-choice goalkeeper at Stamford Bridge but instead will provide a high level of competition to the Spain goalkeeper and indeed hopefully re-kickstart his Chelsea career,” McGarry said on the Transfer Window podcast.
“We reported in May that [Petr] Cech believed that Kepa still had a future at Chelsea and that indeed there were some off-field problems which, if resolved, could see him better himself in terms of his attitude and concentration and ability to perform at the highest level again.
“Recruiting Mendy is seen as a way of hopefully, in Chelsea’s case and in Frank Lampard’s case, of getting Kepa back to the keeper that they paid £71m for from Athletic Bilbao.”