Edouard Mendy departs Chelsea for Saudi Arabia side Al Ahli

• Edouard Mendy becomes the latest football player to join the Saudi Arabia League
• The Chelsea goalkeeper is joining Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli in a permanent deal
• Mendy becomes the third player from Chelsea to join the Saudi top-flight

Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has completed his move to Saudi Arabia side Al Ahli. This makes him the third player from Chelsea to make a switch to the Saudi Professional League this summer. The transfer fee is reported to be £16 million. Mendy, who played a pivotal role in Chelsea’s Champions League triumph in 2021, lost his starting position to Kepa Arrizabalaga towards the end of last season. Despite his previous success, Mendy’s limited game time after returning from the World Cup led to the decision to make him surplus to requirements.

Mauricio Pochettino, the manager of Chelsea, made the decision weeks ago to hand the starting goalkeeper role to Arrizabalaga for the upcoming season. This left Mendy searching for a new club, and Al-Ahli emerged as his destination. Mendy follows the footsteps of N’Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly, who also left Stamford Bridge for Saudi Arabian clubs, joining Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal, respectively. Furthermore, there are reports suggesting that Hakim Ziyech is on the verge of joining Al-Nassr, where Cristiano Ronaldo currently plays.

Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has completed a transfer to Saudi Arabia Pro League side Al Ahli from Premier League side Chelsea. | PHOTO: Sun |

READ: Kalidou Koulibaly completes transfer to Al Hilal from Chelsea

Chelsea is actively looking to offload unwanted players before the end of June in order to include the transfer proceeds in their financial accounts for the 2022/23 season. The club has a strong desire to complete as many sales as possible, and everyone expects that Arsenal will confirm Kai Havertz’s move for £65 million this week. Manchester City has already secured the signing of Mateo Kovacic, and AC Milan is prepared to acquire Ruben Loftus-Cheek for £15 million.

The situation surrounding Mason Mount remains uncertain, as Manchester United has made a £55 million bid for the talented midfielder. Mount has expressed his desire to leave Chelsea, but the two clubs are currently far apart in their valuation of the player.

While Chelsea is seeing several departures, they are also actively strengthening their squad. The signing of Edouard Mendy’s replacement, Kepa Arrizabalaga, as the first-choice goalkeeper indicates the club’s commitment to maintaining a competitive squad. Chelsea will be hoping that their transfer activities will position them strongly for the upcoming season and enable them to challenge for major honours both domestically and in Europe.