EDOUARD MENDY and Petr Cech both arrived at Chelsea from Rennes to play between the sticks at Stamford Bridge.
But the comparisons don’t end there.
Edouard Mendy has made a transformative impact at Stamford BridgeCredit: AP:Associated Press
How Mendy and Cech stack up
The Senegalese stopper arrived in September to take over from the hideously out-of-form Kepa Arrizabalaga as Frank Lampard’s No1.
Such has been the assuredness and quality that Mendy, 28, has brought to the backline, that further comparisons have started to be made with Cech’s own impact.
And the stats back it up, with the duo having enjoyed identical starts to life at Chelsea.
In his first 12 games for the Blues, Cech conceded just three goals, to Porto, Southampton and Manchester City – keeping nine clean sheets in the process.
And Mendy has matched that total, also only conceding three goals, in his case to Tottenham, Rennes and Sheffield United.
The 6ft 6in keeper has kept nine shut-outs so far.
Cech went on to concede just 13 goals in 35 Premier League appearances that season, as the Blues romped to their first title in 50 years.
And the Czech, 38, who is registered as an emergency back-up himself, admitted that he played a part in bringing Mendy to the club.
Petr Cech played a role in bringing Edouard Mendy to the clubCredit: Getty Images – Getty
He told BT Sport: “I gave my input [on Mendy’s signing], because we wanted to add to our goalkeeping group a slightly different type of keeper.
“We have Kepa and Willy Caballero, who every time we needed him was ready to step in and we decided with Kepa going through a difficult moment where things were not happening for him on the pitch, we decided to add to our goalkeeping group and we agreed to bring in Edouard.
“So far, he’s been doing great.”
Defender Kurt Zouma has also sung Mendy’s praises.
The Frenchman, 26, said: “Edouard is a very nice guy and he has good English already – I don’t where he practised that, but he’s got it.
“I don’t even have to translate things for him now, but on the pitch we can speak both English and French.
“I try to help him but you can see he has settled here very well already, everyone likes him, and he’s doing a good job at the minute, so I’m very happy for him.”
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Kurt Zouma has hailed his new team-mateCredit: Reuters
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
