Why Leicester City should offer Nampalys Mendy a new contract
According to Leicestershire Live, Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers hopes Nampalys Mendy will sign a new contract with the club.
The Foxes coach identifies Mendy as a suitable candidate to bolster his squad’s midfield options ahead of their Champions League campaign next season. The 28-year-old Mendy’s current contract at the King Power Stadium is set to expire at the end of this season and Rodgers is hopeful that the Frenchman will sign an extended contract with them.
Mendy has made a mere six appearances for Leicester this season after falling behind the likes of Wilfred Ndidi and Hamza Choudhury in the pecking order of defensive midfielders under Rodgers.
However, with Leicester City now third in the league table and looking at an almost certain Champions League spot next season, Rodgers is keen to include Mendy into his squad, so that he has enough depth at his disposal.
Leicester have an experienced midfielder in Mendy
Meanwhile, Mendy has started to impress Rodgers in recent times and even featured in the side’s first-team line-up against Brighton and Hove Albion in their last league encounter.
Mendy, on the other hand, has never really established himself in England since moving from former side Nice in the summer of 2016. The holding midfielder spent his first season at Leicester on loan with the Ligue 1 side, making 18 appearances for them.
He soon returned to his parent club the following summer and played a key role last season, making 31 league appearances for them. The Frenchman, however, failed to score a single goal or make an assist, that saw him lose his spot in the first-team under new boss Rodgers.
With Ndidi, establishing himself as the side’s obvious first-choice man in front of the back-four, Mendy found his game time getting increasingly limited with the Foxes. Also, with youngster Choudhury waiting in the queue, after impressing boss Rodgers with 17 league appearances this term, Mendy is way down the pecking order.
Despite that, Rodgers now values Mendy highly as his vast experience and knowledge of the game could be vital to his team’s success next season. In fact, Mendy is nothing short of experience, having made a total of 138 Ligue 1 appearances for former sides Nice and Monaco.
A defensive midfielder by trade, Mendy’s versatility could also be of great benefit to Rodgers’ side. Hence, Leicester should do their best to keep hold of this experienced Frenchman and offer him a new contract.
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Verdict
Though Leicester have enough back-up in the defensive midfield role, Choudhury is still very young and lacks big-game experience. Mendy, on the other hand, has Champions League experience with Nice and has consistently played for them at the highest level previously.
