18 March 2023 , 22:30
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Edouard Mendy has been told he can leave Chelsea this summer as the revamp of Graham Potter’s squad continues.
The Blues need to cut the number of players in Potter’s squad after heavy investment last summer and in January. Mendy, who was No.1 under Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel but has fallen behind Kepa Arrizabalaga since Potter’s arrival, is among those for whom the Stamford Bridge hierarchy will listen to offers.
The 30-year-old Senegal keeper is in the final 18 months of the contract he signed when he arrived from Rennes at Petr Cech’s behest in 2020. He quickly established himself as one of the best shot-stoppers in the top flight, keeping 16 clean sheets in his first season.
He also equalled the Champions League record of nine clean sheets in a campaign to help the club win the competition under Tuchel. Injury cost him his spot when Potter first arrived in September and, even though he has deputised when Kepa was unavailable, the Spaniard has retained his manager’s trust since.
Kepa, 28, was posted between the sticks once again for Saturday evening's Premier League clash against Everton, with Marcus Bettinelli the back-up goalkeeper on the bench. The Blues led twice in the fixture - through Joao Felix and Kai Havertz - but were pegged back twice as they had to settle for a point at Stamford Bridge.
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Ellis Simms struck in the 89th minute for the visitors and, speaking after the match, told Sky Sports: "It's about patience, I just had to wait for my chance. We've got top players so I'm not going to walk straight into the team, I have to work hard and take my chance when I get it.
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Kepa Arrizabalaga has claimed the No.1 spot under Graham Potter (Ivan Yordanov/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)"It's massive belief, we're working hard in training, staying united and sticking together when it gets tough. We went behind today but fought back to get the equaliser."
James Tarkowski added: "Unbelievable goal from Simms, he went past [Kalidou] Koulibaly, who is no slow player, and shrugged him off to score. He has been working hard since Christmas, got his head down and those are the moments you live for.
"It's massive. We have been showing character for the last few weeks, had a couple of bad results against Arsenal and Liverpool but we have been grinding it out and we worked hard today to get a point which was brilliant."