Mendy’s rise to prominence is very inspiring, having gone from being unemployed to becoming Chelsea's No.1 goalkeeper in the space of six years.
Mendy joined the Premier League outfit from Rennes in the just ended summer transfer window and has already been given the number one spot ahead of error-prone Kepa Arrizabalaga and Willy Caballero.
Speaking to the Chelsea media in his first press conference, Mendy admitted he is bursting with pride to be an African goalkeeper in the Premier League.
‘There are a lot of African players in the Premier League and the Premier League is the best league in the world so that’s a really positive thing,’ he noted.
‘I know also that there are only a few African goalkeepers but that doesn’t give me a particular pressure.”
“It’s a source of pride for me to be an African goalkeeper in the Premier League.
‘It’s up to me to show that as an African goalkeeper I can really perform at this level and perhaps change people’s mentality to these things.’
Mendy is the only African keeper in English football at the moment and the 28-year-old was asked why.
‘I can’t tell you why,’ he answered. ‘When you look at other leagues, there are more playing around Europe.
“In France, there are four or five at least and perhaps it’s something that can be explained in different ways - maybe the profile of the player isn’t right or the coach has other ideas of the sorts of players he’s looking for.
‘Right now it’s true that I’m the only African goalkeeper in the Premier League and so it’s a responsibility because there’s expectations surrounding that.
'I just need to make sure I carry on working hard and doing my best in training and in matches so that other goalkeepers can follow me into this league and have that opportunity.’
