Mendy, who was on the strike list, sits Kepa on the bench

Before the coronavirus became the center of our lives,

told

that he did not have it for this season.

The pandemic, however, changed the rules of the market.

Kepa was the object of desire of several clubs, but none could assume his salary or pay a high transfer for him, which caused him to continue at Stamford Bridge.

The London club's roadmap, however, did not change.

There were names, like those of

,

and

, but all of them required a large financial outlay.

And that's where

appears

.

Born in France but international in Senegal, he was unknown to the English public.

After all, he played for

and that was the peak of his career, already 28 years old.

But the strong recommendation of

, who also came to Chelsea 16 years ago from the Breton club, convinced the club to pay 25 million for the towering (1.97) Senegalese goalkeeper.

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An outcome that Mendy would never have dreamed of for his career.

In 2014, the boy spent a whole year without equipment, applied for unemployment and even looked for other jobs to feed his family.

He was on the verge of leaving football when Marseille offered him a test for their subsidiary.

He surpassed it and, although he hardly played, it served to relaunch his career.

The

, then in Ligue 2, later trusted him as a substitute.

One season later he was the starter in the promotion and also the next, in which the club reached eighth position in Ligue 1. His performances earned him the signing of Rennes and, after just one season, Chelsea him chose to replace Kepa.

All the doubts that could be generated with his signing have been resolved in

, in which Mendy has only conceded three goals.

Kepa, on the other hand, received six in the three he played.

In the Premier League, he is by far the goalkeeper with the best save rate, with 89% (he has been shot nine times and only scored one goal).

Really amazing data.

This Wednesday he will play his fifth Champions League game against Sevilla, a competition in which he has only conceded one goal.

With both teams already classified, his goal at Sánchez Pizjuán is to keep a clean sheet to help Chelsea finish first.

Something that six years ago, when he went to a unemployment office in

, he could never imagine.

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