Manchester City’s huge summer investment on full-backs continued on Monday with the acquisition of Benjamin Mendy from Monaco for a reported fee of £52m.
Arriving at the Etihad on a six-year contract, the highly-rated 23-year-old hailed manager Pep Guardiola’s tactical approach as key to his decision:
“I am absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester City. They are one of Europe’s leading Clubs and in Pep Guardiola they have a manager committed to playing attacking football. I am sure that over the next few years we will be successful.”
Meanwhile, the club’s Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, talked up the France international’s prospects:
“Benjamin has all the qualities we are looking for in a full-back. For such a young player, he has a wealth of top-level experience. He is undoubtedly one of the world’s best full-backs, our number one target in this position. We are all delighted to have him here at Manchester City. I’m sure he will prove a fantastic addition to the squad.”
The History
A product of the Le Havre youth system, Mendy made his debut for the club back in 2011/12 just a few weeks after his seventeenth birthday. Over the course of two seasons in the French second division, he produced four assists across 57 appearances.
Mendy then made his way to Ligue 1 outfit Marseille in July 2013. He struggled to cement regular starts, making just 24 appearances in his first year and serving up one goal and four assists.
However, the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa in May 2014 proved instrumental in Mendy’s development – the youngster was handed 33 starts and delivered a trio of assists in the Chilean’s only full season at the helm. Mendy produced a further goal and assist in 24 outings over the 2015/16 campaign before making his way to Monaco last summer.
Afforded license to raid forward by manager Leonardo Jardim, Mendy was a vital cog in the swashbuckling side that swept to last season’s Ligue 1 title. He played 25 times, producing five assists, and claimed another three assists in seven Champions League outings as Monaco made it through to the semi-finals.
His temperament remains somewhat volatile, though. Mendy was banned for five league matches last season after kicking an opponent in an off-the-ball altercation.
On the international stage, Mendy has represented France on a total of 58 times at every level from U16 through to U21, finding the net three times.
Handed his senior debut in March of this year, he has since turned out for Les Bleus on four occasions.
The Prospects
Having parted company with Aleksandar Kolarov, Gael Clichy, Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna over the close-season, Guardiola’s transformation in the full-back area now looks complete.
Mendy and fellow new boy Kyle Walker seem set to become the club’s first-choice left-back and right-back respectively, with the versatile signing Danilo offering cover in both positions.
There are two ways to look at Guardiola’s defensive chopping and changing last season. Considering that Clichy and Sagna were the most used players at left-back and right-back respectively with 22 and 13 starts in those roles, we can anticipate heavy rotation at full-back once again.
On the other hand, it can also be argued that the City manager was unconvinced by the previous options at his disposal – he even played Jesus Navas as a right-back on four occasions. With his own players now on board, he could be less inclined to tinker.
Having toyed with the idea of “inverted full-backs”, Guardiola’s decision to acquire Mendy and Walker suggests that he’s looking to utilise a more conventional approach in his second year at the Etihad. Although both new arrivals are comfortable as wing-backs, it seems more likely that City will opt for a four-man defensive unit.
Certainly, the need for improvements was obvious – with just 16 key passes to his name, Clichy was City’s most creative defender in 2016/17.
It’s a little surprising to learn that Mendy created only 25 chances last term – averaging a key pass every 82.4 minutes. Indeed, that is less frequent than Walker’s 69.3 minutes with Spurs, as he recorded six FPL assists, more than any defender.
A further scan of the data reinforces the theory that Mendy is more likely to be a provider of opportunities rather than a direct goal threat. He averaged an effort on goal every 147.1 minutes in 2016/17, which is very similar to Walker’s 142.3 minutes.
In terms of defensive contribution, Walker also has the edge – he completed 80% of attempted tackles to the Frenchman’s 68.5%.
However, the Frenchman’s delivery from the flank is far more impressive. He completed 24% (36 of 150) of his crosses in Ligue 1 last term, while Walker registered a success rate of 13.5% (13 of 96 crosses).
Mendy’s performance for this metric compares well to Southampton’s Cedric Soares – who completed more crosses (43 of 144) than any other FPL defender. The Saints’ right-back succeeded with 29.9% of his attempts.
Indeed, in his first interview for the club, Mendy was quick to outline his talent as a provider of goals.
“I can bring a lot of creativity in the game. I can offer different solutions. I like to play as full-back and provide assists for the strikers.”
That potential for assists could be a deciding factor for those considering investing in a defence that, despite chalking up just 12 clean sheets, still conceded fewer shots than any other side last season.
As evidenced towards the latter Gameweeks, the fitness of Vincent Kompany will impact on our assessment of the City defence and their likelihood of shutting out opponents.
Valued at 6.0 in Fantasy Premier League, the Belgian – who notched three times in 11 league appearances – offers a goal threat and could remain our favoured route should he stay fit.
At present, though, Walker has proven the more popular pick. Initially listed at former club Spurs, the England international is owned by 18.9% despite a price tag of 6.5.
Mendy comes in at the same cost as Walker in FPL, although interestingly he’s been priced at 8.3 in Sky Sports. That’s a full 1.2 less than Walker (9.5), with only Eliaquim Mangala – at 7.6 – cheaper in the City defence.
Mendy’s pacey raids and supply of crosses look set to become a prominent feature of City’s attack. Meanwhile, encounters with Brighton, Bournemouth, Watford and Palace in the first six Gameweeks afford him an early opportunity to impress. He’s expected to be fit for the start of the season, though Pep Guardiola confirmed this Wednesday that he’ll be out for a couple of weeks with a minor knock.
While it seems sensible to allow Mendy time to settle into life at the Etihad, his displays against Spurs and City in last season’s Champions League – where he supplied an assist against both clubs – hints that he is equipped to make an immediate impact.
