Many of the journalists who asked Frank Lampard questions at his press conference today wanted to know more about Edouard Mendy on the eve of Chelsea’s game against the goalkeeper’s former club Rennes.
Mendy’s start to life in London couldn’t have gone much better since his move from Les Rouge et Noir, with five clean sheets accrued in six appearances so far. He has become the first Blue to record shutouts in his opening three Premier League matches since our previous signing from Rennes, Petr Cech.
Such solidity between the posts has been a welcome sight for Lampard, who has certainly liked what he has seen from Mendy so far.
‘He has shown his qualities that we brought him into the club for,’ said the boss.
‘All the feedback was he had a great personality, a strong personality in the dressing room, and everything I heard, all those positives, came true. It seems his personality is pretty laid-back with a tough edge when it comes to work.
‘He is very low maintenance, he works hard, he wants to work more, and he is eager to engage with his team-mates and myself. He has a smile on his face so it’s a real positive when you have a player that comes in and hits the ground running on the pitch and in the dressing room.’
On the back of comments from Petr Cech about Mendy’s high ceiling and room for improvement, Lampard said he too is sure there is a lot more to come from the Senegal international, who played 34 times for Rennes last season as they finished third in Ligue 1.
‘What he has shown so far is very complete,’ said Lampard.
‘He’s made saves that have helped us, and if the goal had gone in the game could have gone against us. Against Manchester United particularly the first-half save against Rashford with his feet was a top-class save.
‘He’s given off a sense of calm in his distribution, the way he’s coming for crosses.
‘He asks really relevant little individual questions about his relationship with players around him on the pitch, things I love, players to engage with each other.
‘It’s been a really good start for him. I’m very confident in him, he’s shown great qualities so far, and I’m sure there will be a lot more to come.
‘With his attitude, which is key, I have seen how he wants to work and his humility, I think he can go much further in many departments.’