Edouard Mendy has only been a Premier League keeper for two months, but already the Chelsea new boy is setting the standard for goalkeeper in the top flight.
In keeping a clean sheet against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, the Senegal stopper has taken his tally of shutouts in the Prem to five.
Already, he’s registered more clean sheets in the top flight than any other keeper in the Premier League so far this season, which is remarkable considering he’s only played six matches so far.
While some of the division’s net-minders have played 10 times already this term, none can match Mendy for clean sheets, demonstrating just how difficult he is to breach.
Certainly, Harry Kane or Son Heung-min—perhaps the two most lethal attackers in the division—were unable to do so in Sunday’s meeting, with the pair both drawing a blank when coming up against the former Stade Rennais Number One.
For context, it’s the first time that neither Kane nor Son have scored since Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Newcastle United in September, with no keepers since then managing to keep both at bay.
The impact Mendy has had at Stamford Bridge has been stark.
Before his arrival, the Pensioners struggled to keep clean sheets, with Kepa Arrizabalaga and Willy Caballero both falling well short of their successor’s high standards.
The latter conceded three—against West Bromwich Albion—in his only appearance of the season, while Kepa’s troubles have been well documented, and the Spaniard conceded six in his three appearances so far this term, including three against Southampton in his most recent outing.
Mendy, by contrast, didn’t concede in his first three league games, and hasn’t conceded since David McGoldrick scored for Sheffield United in the Londoners’ 4-1 victory in early November.
Since then, Newcastle and Spurs have both failed to find a way past the towering West African, who has also conceded just once in his four Champions League appearances so far for Chelsea.
Some may argue the arrival of the experienced Thiago Silva ahead of him has helped Mendy’s transition to the top flight, but either way, the Senegal No. 1 deserves immense credit for becoming the first Chelsea keeper since Petr Cech in 2010 to keep five clean sheets in a row in all competitions, and is now setting the standard for Prem stoppers this term.
