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Chelsea on Thursday announced the signing of goalkeeper Edouard
Mendy from Rennes on a five-year deal for a reported fee of £22 million ($28
million).
The Senegal
international will compete for a starting spot with Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has
struggled for form and confidence at Stamford Bridge.
He is Frank
Lampard's seventh senior signing of a busy summer following the arrivals of
Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva and Malang
Sarr.
"I am so
excited to be joining Chelsea," said Mendy. "It's a dream for me to
be a part of this exciting squad and to work with Frank Lampard and all of his
coaching staff.
"I look
forward to meeting my team-mates and can't wait to get started."
The 6 feet 5
inch (1.96 metre) stopper kept nine clean sheets in 24 Ligue 1 appearances last
season, helping the Bretons to finish third and qualify for the Champions
League for the first time in their history.
Although born
in France, Mendy, 28, opted to represent Senegal at international level.
Chelsea
director Marina Granovskaia said: "As soon as Petr Cech (technical and
performance advisor) and our technical team identified Edouard as the most
suitable goalkeeper to complement our existing group, there was only one player
we wanted to bring in.
"Edouard
arrives following a season of real success with Rennes. He is ambitious for
more, and we welcome him to our club."
Kepa, who
cost Chelsea £72 million in 2018, has proved error-prone and was dropped twice
by Lampard in favour of 38-year-old Willy Caballero last season.
He made
another high-profile mistake against Liverpool on Sunday, gifting possession to
Sadio Mane for his second goal.
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