“He’ll win you games” - Joe Cole names ‘irreplaceable’ star as Chelsea’s most important player

Former midfielder and current BT Sport pundit Joe Cole believes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is one of the most important players in the entire Chelsea squad.

According to Cole, Mendy is one of Chelsea's match winners and their most important player alongside midfielder N'Golo Kante. The former England international feels Mendy has repaid the faith in him from Petr Cech following Kepa Arrizabalaga's struggles.

Speaking to BT Sports (via Football London), Joe Cole said:

"Some of the saves he's made over the last six months have been out of this world. Kepa was having a real tough time so they bought Mendy in. People didn't know if he was going to be a stop-gap or not. But he's repaid the faith in him from Petr Cech. He's arguably their most important player alongside Kante. He'll win you games."

Edouard Mendy has arguably been one of Chelsea's most important signings in recent history. Following Kepa Arrizabalaga's disappointing time under Maurizio Sarri, the Blues were in dire need of signing yet another goalkeeper.

Mendy was signed from Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais in the summer of 2020 for a fee of £22 million. Since his arrival, the 29-year-old shot-stopper has established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper at Chelsea.

Mendy played a vital role in helping Chelsea win the Champions League last season, becoming the first African goalkeeper to lift Europe's biggest prize. The Senegalese goalkeeper kept a clean sheet in the final against Manchester City.

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Edouard Mendy is not one of five Chelsea players nominated for the Ballon d'Or

Despite his exploits in the league and in the Champions League, Edouard Mendy has missed out on a Ballon d'Or nomination. Five Chelsea players have been nominated for the award — Mason Mount, Cesar Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Romelu Lukaku and N'Golo Kante.

Former England women's international Eniola Aluko feels Mendy deserved to have been nominated for the Ballon d'Or and called him irreplaceable for Chelsea.

"He's arguably Chelsea's most important player," she recently told BT Sport. "He's irreplaceable. His omission from the Ballon d'Or list is very odd."

Edouard Mendy had one of his finest games in the Premier League when Chelsea faced newly-promoted Brentford. The 29-year-old stop-stopper saved as many as six shots, giving the Blues all three points and sending them to the top of the Premier League table.

Chelsea are currently one point ahead of Liverpool and are scheduled to face a struggling Norwich City side in the league on Saturday.