Craig Burley predicts that Edouard Mendy will be the number one goalkeeper under Chelsea’s new head coach, Graham Potter.
Chelsea kickstart life under new management on Wednesday night when they host Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League group stages, which is the final fixture for the Blues before an international break.
Potter’s nearly got a full squad to pick from for his first game in charge. However, it’s been confirmed Mendy and N’Golo Kante are the two injury absences who won’t play against Salzburg.
Edouard Mendy the number one
ESPN pundit Burley is tipping Mendy to keep his key starting position moving forward as Chelsea’s first-choice keeper.
The £22million shot-stopper was the trusted man in-between the sticks for former manager Thomas Tuchel, but there’s been errors creeping into his game lately.
His main competition to start in goal comes from teammate Kepa Arrizabalaga, who The Chelsea Chronicle predict will get to start against Salzburg with Mendy unavilable.
“I think Edouard Mendy will play, when fit,” Burley told ESPN.
“He’s made a couple of howlers over the last couple of years, not so much with his hands, more with his feet. That is another thing Potter will want, the keepers playing out from the back.”
There’s been question marks for a while against Mendy’s ability in playing out from the back, something that will surely only increase when you see how Potter likes his goalkeepers to play.
In fairness, the 30-year-old gloveman has been excellent on the main since joining a couple of years ago from Rennes.
He’s a colossus keeper with great agility and a presence in the back, but his levels have dropped somewhat.
Most neutrals would definitely expect Mendy to be Potter’s number one at Chelsea when fit, but it feels like a small window of opportunity has opened for Kepa.
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