Chelsea goalkeeper Edou Mendy has spoken about the ways he is influenced by both Thomas Tuchel and Petr Cech, while admitting he is constantly striving to repay the faith they have placed in him.
Mendy arrived at Chelsea in September 2020 and has since played over 90 games for the club. Seventy-two of these have come under our German head coach Thomas Tuchel, whom he confirms is one of the best coaches he has worked with in his career.
The Senegalese international points towards the understanding the pair have with each other as a major factor in their positive relationship.
‘We have a really good relationship with the coach. He’s always been clear with me, he’s clear with all of the players. He’s always explaining things, trying to make sure the messages are understood,' Edou says.
‘He’s always looking to explain his decisions so there’s a lot of transparency in what he does, and I think that’s important for the team and of course for myself too. We have a good relationship - we can talk about everything and nothing but when we’re talking about what happens on the pitch it’s always a good exchange of ideas,’ the goalkeeper admits.
Mendy also reveals he is always striving to impress former Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech, who these days works at Cobham as a technical and performance advisor.
‘Petr was a big factor in me coming to Chelsea. Petr and also Christophe Lollichon are people who, when I wake up in the morning, make me think about how I need to show them that they made the right decision,’ Edou reveals.
‘You have to always make them proud with your performances on the pitch. Last year, I had the chance to train with Petr and I had the opportunity to see what a great player he was, even if he had taken the decision to take a step back from the game.
‘You know what they say, talent never dies - I was lucky enough to see him evolve and to get advice from him every day. What he says is very important to me, especially from a goalkeeper who won a lot at Chelsea and is a legend of goalkeeping. So, it’s massively important to have his opinion and expertise as well as what we get from the goalkeeping coaches.’