Chelsea and Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has quickly taken to life in the Premier League after his September arrival from Rennes.
The 28-year-old immediately took the goalkeeping berth from an error-prone Kepa Arrizabalaga and has inspired an upturn in form for Frank Lampard’s side, keeping five clean sheets in the Blues’ last six matches.
However, after Mendy this week helped his national team to qualify for the African Cup of Nations in 2022, Lampard will be without his new number one for around a month at a critical point next season.
The now bi-annual competition is to be held in Cameroon across January and February of 2022 and was due to be held next year, but it was pushed back due to the ongoing pandemic.
It was another Premier League star, Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, who scored the goal to send Senegal to the tournament, meaning Jurgen Klopp will also be without one of his key players for a chunk of the 2021/22 campaign.
Lampard will also be sweating on the likely qualification of Morocco as he faces losing another new signing in Hakim Ziyech for the tournament next season.
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Lampard will have hoped he cracked the goalkeeping problem indefinitely until this came along.
Although this tournament has been a bugbear for managers for many years, that’s no less reason for the Chelsea boss, as well as his Premier League colleagues, to begrudge losing their key players for a prolonged period at a potentially crucial point in the season.
Mendy has been brilliant since his arrival and has established himself firmly as Chelsea’s first-choice ‘keeper. However, midway through next season, the Blues’ will be forced into a change between the sticks, perhaps turning back to Arrizabalaga – unless Petr Cech is still available.
