Real Madrid: Ferland Mendy is projected to remain a starter in 2020/21
Ferland Mendy has become one of Real Madrid’s most impressive players.
Last summer, Real Madrid spent over 300 million euros in the transfer window to infuse Zinedine Zidane’s team with young talent after a woeful 2018-2019 season under three different coaches. Eden Hazard was by far Real’s biggest acquisition in the short-term, but he actually didn’t make the most profound impact on the team in 2019-2020.
That honor belongs to left back Ferland Mendy, who was purchased for 50 million euros from Lyon. Mendy was initially expected to fight for minutes alongside club legend Marcelo, but he quickly proved to be a considerably better option than the declining fullback.
Marcelo is still an effective player offensively and showed that he has value even in big games, as he played quite well in the second Clasico this March. However, Mendy is mentioned alongside Alphonso Davies and Andrew Robertson as one of the best left backs in European football.
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Mendy’s defending separates himself from the rest of the back, but, per WhoScored.com, he also completed nearly two dribbles per game to show that the has the offensive ability to help a team move the ball forward.
Next season, Real Madrid will likely receive Sergio Reguilon back from loan. Reguilon has spent the 2019-2020 season with Julen Lopetegui at Sevilla and has been neck-and-neck with Mendy as the best left back in La Liga this season.
He’s even better than Mendy offensively and isn’t lacking in the defensive department either, recording 2.1 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game in La Liga this season, per WhoScored.com.
Reguilon vs. Mendy should be an even bigger position battle than Marcelo vs. Mendy, given how impressive the 23-year-old has been for Sevilla.
But Mendy still has an important edge on Reguilon, as he’s earned Zidane’s trust after nearly a full year of excellence in his first season with Real Madrid’s first team.
On top of that, Mendy’s defensive value over Reguilon is crucial. Mendy is a wall against even the most electrifying dribblers in the league, and Reguilon’s current teammate Lucas Ocampos can attest to that. Mendy’s defensive work could be the decisive factor, and his consistency enables Eden Hazard (or Vinicius Junior) to have more attacking freedom, as well as left center back Sergio Ramos.
There’s also the matter of Reguilon’s future with Real not being set in stone. Zidane should be high on a player with Reguilon’s all-around qualities, but what if Reguilon isn’t content with potentially being a backup to Mendy and even losing minutes to Marcelo? He may want another loan deal or even a transfer to a club like PSG, who would have the ability to sign Reguilon as their new starting left back.
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No matter how you spell it, Ferland Mendy is still looking like Real Madrid’s best bet to start full-time at left back in 2020-2021. He may lose playing time to another talented player under 25 in Reguilon, but Mendy’s place as an important player for Los Blancos is firm.