COMMENT: Contract rejection. Status lost. And replacement rumours placed in the press. If you were Edouard Mendy, would you still be sticking around at Chelsea...?
Monday night at Al Bayt stadium could be anything for Chelsea's goalkeeper. A World Cup knockout tie. The African champions against Europe's runners-up. There's of course subplots galore. Though if you're seeking a headline, it has to involve Edouard Mendy and how definitive this night could be.
As we say, it could be anything. It could be a shop window. It could be reinforcement. As Mendy and his Senegal teammates continue this World Cup run, he knows everything at club level remains in flux.
Back in London, contract talks have stalled. The new management team prefer Kepa Arrizabalaga. And you can't open the backpages of the local rag without a story linking Graham Potter with a new keeper signing.
It's been claimed it's Kepa versus Mendy. That the new manager is leaving everything open. But the Spaniard has been backed in Chelsea's most important games - with a fully fit Mendy left on the bench. And when you dig through all the transfer goss involving Chelsea's keeper plans, the name most prominent is Edouard Mendy.
Does he deserve it? No. At least that's a 'no' for this column. Something has gone wrong with Chelsea's handling of their senior goalkeeper. As he's watched teammates like Cesar Azpilicueta, Reece James and most recently Trevoh Chalobah all secured to improved deals, Mendy has been left on the sidelines. Yeah, there's been negotiations, but the last offer tabled to the 30 year-old fell way short of expectations. Indeed, it fell well short of Kepa's £190,000-a-week deal. And just as Mendy was getting this news, the new board were upgrading Reece James' deal to £250,000-a-week.
In contrast, Chelsea have left Mendy on his original base deal of less than £70,000-a-week. Three years in. With a trophy cabinet that boasts Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup winners' medals. Plus FIFA, UEFA and AFCON individual awards. For all that achievement, you'd expect management to initiate negotiations themselves as a reward and recognition for what Mendy has done for the club. Instead it appears - at least at board level - he's been taken for granted.
That current deal, as introductory terms, was understandable. Picked out by Chelsea's long-time, but now former, goalkeeper coach Christophe Lollichon. Scouted and confirmed by club legend Petr Cech. Mendy was a personal bet by the pair. Frank Lampard, now of Everton, backed their expertise. But Mendy was never going to command huge wages from the off. It was basically an extended trial. And it was one the former Rennes man passed emphatically.
So you'd think 12 months - or maybe at a pinch two years - into this partnership, Chelsea would seek to acknowledge Mendy's new status. Not just as the club's outstanding goalkeeper - but at least in 2021 - the outstanding goalkeeper across the globe. Yet instead, they left things as they were.
For some, perhaps many, they'd understand if Mendy had become disillusioned over the past year. Of course the money involved is incredible. Ridiculous. But it's all relative. And what Mendy has been left with by Chelsea's top brass screams 'we don't rate you'. Especially given the attention afforded many of his teammates.
Does this season's form warrant parity with Kepa? There is an argument to suggest the board is playing it right. But Chelsea shouldn't be thinking about four months of injury-plagued football. Mendy should be judged on the past three years. Every keeper has his peaks and troughs. Like Mendy, Gigio Donnarumma, Manuel Neuer and Alisson Becker have all been questioned this year. But not internally like the Senegalese.
Even if Todd Boehly and co wish for everything to be wiped before their takeover, Mendy has still affirmed what he's all about with Senegal in Qatar. A wonder save against the home nation was Mendy at his best. And ahead of the Three Lions showdown, Senegal's assistant coach El Hadji Diouf, the spiky former Liverpool striker, warned England not to play for penalties.
"If we get to penalties, we're going to win it, easy," said Diouf. "I know the goalkeeper we've got and I know we can stop some of their penalties."
Indeed, Senegal are only in Qatar thanks Mendy's shootout heroics against Egypt in their playoff. Just as he did against the same opposition in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. This is what Chelsea risk losing. And more importantly - will need to replace.
The last time Chelsea were in such a position, Lollichon had Cech's ear: "Some point at Chelsea, there was a need for a new goalkeeper but on the market, there weren't many people, or else it required a lot of money.
"I said to Petr: 'Do you remember Edouard? I continue to follow him'.
"The success is magnificent. So we can always screw up, but Edouard had a story that made us think that his ability to adapt was going to be interesting..."
You think of that famous background "story". Of how far Mendy has come. Of how he has handled himself since accepting Cech's offer. And you do have to wonder, if given the same treatment, would you be sticking around at Chelsea...?
