Chelsea are reportedly in contract talks with current squad player Edouard Mendy, who is set to return to Chelsea training in the next two weeks following finger surgery… but his future at the club is UNCERTAIN after contract talks fell through and the Blues are set to prioritize a new back-up stopper in the summer.
Mendy has been out since the beginning of the year after injuring his finger in training, necessitating an operation in France.
Mendy has begun light training on his own and targeted work to determine how his injury is mending.
Mendy is making good progress, and how quickly he responds and regains his general fitness will determine how soon he can rejoin Graham Potter’s first team squad.
Mendy has made just five appearances for Potter, with a shoulder ailment and subsequently a finger injury restricting him to just five games.
Mendy has only appeared five games for Graham Potter since he took control.
Kepa Arrizabalaga has taken over as first choice in his absence and has had a consistent run of starts since September.
Yet Kepa has been regarded adequate thus far, with Chelsea presently aiming to prioritize bringing in a backup goalkeeper in the summer. It remains to be seen how Mendy’s future will affect this.
Negotiations for a new deal for Mendy, who turned 31 on Wednesday, have fallen through after a number of incentivized offers were rejected.
Mendy, who was awarded the world’s best goalkeeper a year ago following a fantastic start to his Chelsea career after joining from Rennes in 2020, will enter the final two years of his contract in the summer.
Negotiations for a new deal for Mendy, who turned 31 on Wednesday, have fallen through after a number of incentivized offers were rejected.
Mendy, who was awarded the world’s best goalkeeper a year ago following a fantastic start to his Chelsea career after joining from Rennes in 2020, will enter the final two years of his contract in the summer.
One aspect of squad planning that Chelsea’s owners hope to address is making decisions on players at that time, preventing them from getting any closer to the end of their contracts.
Chelsea have held preliminary talks over the future of third-choice Marcus Bettinelli, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
They have strengthened their goalkeeping department by signing highly-rated American prospect Gabriel Slonina, who joined Chelsea full-time in January and has made three appearances for their under-21s.
Meanwhile, midfielder Andrey Santos has returned to former club Vasca da Gama on loan after being unable to acquire a work permit following his £18 million signing.
