Chelsea agree £22m deal for Edouard Mendy as Rennes goalkeeper travels to Berlin to undergo medical before signing five-year contract
- Chelsea are set to announce the signing of Edouard Mendy from Rennes
- The goalkeeper will undergo a medical in Berlin this week and sign five-year deal
- Mendy initially pulled out of training last Saturday as clubs negotiated transfer
- The Frenchman’s arrival will intensify pressure on under-fire Kepa Arrizabalaga
Edouard Mendy will have a medical in Berlin this week ahead of completing his move to Chelsea on a five-year deal.
Goalkeeper Mendy, 28, is on the verge of sealing his move after Chelsea agreed a £22m deal with Rennes and imminent arrival will intensify the pressure on under-fire Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Mendy had initially being lined up to provide healthy competition and push Kepa for the No1 position.
Chelsea have agreed a £22m deal to sign Rennes keeper Edouard Mendy on five-year contract
But the Spaniard’s ongoing struggles have increased the prospect of 6ft 6in Senegalese stopper Mendy starting games for the Blues sooner than expected.
Mendy pulled out of training when an agreement first appeared close but was unable to complete a medical last Saturday as the clubs failed to finalise a fee.
He returned to training while the clubs continued to negotiate and now a deal has been struck his tests have been rescheduled for ahead of his move to London.
Current Chelsea No1 Kepa Arrizabalaga made another costly error during defeat by Liverpool
Kepa suffered another nightmare moment in Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat against Liverpool when his sloppy backpass gifted Sadio Mane his second goal.
Manager Frank Lampard offered his support to Kepa but refused to totally spare the Spaniard, admitting he made ‘a clear mistake.’
Kepa, 25, is determined to fight for his Chelsea future and prove his worth following his world record £71.6m move to Stamford Bridge in 2018 but he has failed to convince Lampard and was dropped twice last season.
But Chelsea accept there will be no takers at the level of fee – at least £50m – they would be willing to accept for Kepa.
Frank Lampard admitted the Spaniard made a ‘clear mistake’ during the Premier League defeat
Meanwhile, they are reluctant to take a big hit on what they paid Athletic Bilbao leaving him set to remain unless a long-term loan could be found, with the borrowing club taking on a significant portion of his wages.
Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount insisted Kepa still has the backing of his teammates.
He said: ‘We know that Kepa is an experienced goalkeeper, he will look at it and he knows where he needs to look at it and improve but we are all going to be behind him.’