Garth Crooks claims Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has shown complete faith in his goalkeeper Edouard Mendy by not dropping him in the early stages of the season.
Mendy, 30, has been the first-choice keeper since his arrival at Stamford Bridge ahead of teammate Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Senegal international has a brilliant record of 49 clean sheets in 97 Chelsea appearances.
He’s come in for some criticism at the start of his third campaign as a Blues player, though.
The African shot-stopper made a really poor error in a league defeat to Leeds United earlier this month, which is the kind of performance that BBC pundit Crooks thinks most managers would have dropped him from the line-up for. Also, it’s not the first time he’s been sloppy on the ball and gifted treats to opposition teams.
However, Tuchel’s faith in Mendy was rewarded with the way he helped Chelsea beat Leicester two days ago in the league.
Tuchel faith in Mendy
Crooks says the fact that Mendy played on the weekend is proof of how the Chelsea boss trusts and rates him.
“What a difference a week makes. Against Leeds, Edouard Mendy had what I could only describe as a shocker. Six days later, he makes two saves that deny Leicester, with 11 men, from sharing the points with a Chelsea team who were down to 10. The save from Ayoze Perez was absolutely brilliant and would have gone in had it not been for the Senegal goalkeeper’s fingertip save to push the ball on to the bar,” Crooks said.
“Some managers would have left Mendy out after his performance against Leeds but not Thomas Tuchel. He clearly has a lot of faith in the 30-year-old.”
Kepa Arrizabalaga is Chelsea’s second-choice goalkeeper waiting in the wings to impress, so he should feel a little disappointed that an opportunity has opened up for in the last few weeks.
The 27-year-old looks set for more time on the bench with the transfer window shutting in a few days time.
If Mendy can tighten up his ball work, he can belong in the bracket with the very best goalkeepers.
He’s still a colossal presence in-between the sticks that you usually expect to deal with crosses and bail you out in one-on-one situations, but the modern keeper is judged on how much they help his outfield teammates.
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