INCOMING Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy could make light work of Kepa Arrizabalaga – with superior stats in EVERY department last season.
Comparisons between the Rennes star, 28, and the Blues’ current custodian, 25, do not come out well for the Spaniard.
Both men entered last season as first-choice for their team but Kepa was dropped on two occasions, resulting in 33 league appearances.
Mendy, meanwhile, played 24 of the curtailed 28-game Ligue 1 season, having signed from Reims two days before their opening game.
And yet, the Senegal international still kept more clean sheets than his new rival, producing nine shutouts to Kepa’s eight.
Rennes only conceded 19 goals with Mendy in between the sticks, at a rate of 0.79 per game.
Chelsea’s defence last season was notoriously dodgy, letting in 1.42 goals for every match Kepa played.
In their Premier League opener at Brighton on Monday, the shot-stopper came unstuck in the face of Leandro Trossard’s long-range strike.
But an earlier corner showed another of his vulnerabilities, as he unconvincingly came off his line and failed to punch the ball clear.
In fact, Kepa only stopped 7.2 per cent of crosses last season, in comparison to Mendy’s 10.2 per cent.
Mendy also comes out on top in save success rate, denying 78.4 per cent of shots he faced with Kepa back at 54.5 per cent.
That meant the Chelsea No1 made only 1.6 saves per game, with third-placed Rennes calling their man into action 2.5 times per game.
Despite the scare in his side’s 3-1 beating of Brighton, Frank Lampard insisted he has “very happy” with Kepa.
The Blues boss said post-game: “I am very happy with Kepa. With the shot I’m not sure if he could’ve done any better.
“But I saw a bit more confidence in how he was playing. Kepa is here, he’s our keeper and I’m happy with him.”
Mendy is still expected to arrive with a £27.7million bid accepted, making him Ligue 1’s most expensive goalkeeper but far behind the position’s world record holder – £71m Kepa.
With the Spaniard not expected to be sold, Chelsea will have two goalkeepers with great potential vying for one spot on the teamsheet.
Lampard added: “If we are bringing in competition, it will be competition. That’s the nature of Chelsea and it goes throughout the squad.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
