“Edouard Mendy never imagine played for one of the biggest club in the world, but now, he is the Chelsea’s first-choice goalkepeer with stunning cleansheet record.”
This is the story of a man who rose to fame after experiencing his lowest point in life. Edouard Mendy, a Senegalese international was 22 years old when he had to accept the reality of living without a club or job. He was considering quitting football at the time, an idea that he should be grateful he did not pursue. With the full support of his family, Mendy gives one last try in his football career by came to the Marseille trial. He was applying and passing the trial to become the fourth-choice goalkeeper of Marseille. After that, to get more playing time, he moves to Ligue 2 team, Reims, where his hard work has made him the club first-choice goalkeeper. During the 2017–2018 seasons, his outstanding performance has helped the club get promoted to Ligue 1 before making another move that changes his fortune, Rennes.
Rennes is a suitable place for Mendy, the club fully appreciates his hard work, and the club is good enough to provide Mendy with experience playing for top European sides. His performance at Rennes acknowledges one of Rennes legend, Petr Cech, who is also a former Chelsea goalkeeper, then when the goalkeeper crisis occurred in Chelsea due to underperforming Kepa Arrizabalaga, Petr Cech advising Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard to sign him. After bought him with £22 million, Frank Lampard give Mendy complete trust by making him the first-choice goalkeeper. With his excellent performance, he still keeps his status as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper when Thomas Tuchel replaces Frank Lampard.
Not only for himself, but Mendy success also has more meaning for the black goalkeeper in the European top flight. He is the only black goalkeeper in the European top-flight has shown how hard it is to become a black goalkeeper in the European team. A black goalkeeper who did not get enough appreciation is not a new story in football. Take André Onana cases, who has been linked with a high-profile move for the past two seasons but has yet to materialize. However, the Chelsea board seems not 100% confident with Mendy despite his incredible performance this season. Based on the latest news, the Chelsea board are still trying to bring the Italian international Gianluca Donnaruma to the Stamford Bridges next season.
Mendy is a world-class goalkeeper, but comparing him to Chelsea and Rennes legend Petr Cech solely on his first seasons at Stamford Bridges does not seem appropriate. Chelsea should give him more time to prove that he is worthy of becoming the first-choice goalkeeper.