Returning to his former club Nice after a very difficult season at Leicester City, Nampalys Mendy is once again finding some joy in football, playing regularly, even if this weekend’s game will have been one to forget.
Facing Marseille at home, the Foxes’ loanee was unable to stop Rudi Garcia’s men from coming back from 2-0 down to win 4-2, driven by an inspired Lucas Ocampos.
Also playing in that game was Valère Germain, who spent a season on loan at Nice in 2015-16, which happened to be one of Nampalys Mendy’s best years, earning him his move to King Power Stadium.
Speaking to La Provence ahead of the game over the weekend, the Marseille striker gave La Provence his two cents on his former teammate’s situation.
He said: “The captain is back! He’s someone who doesn’t talk much, but he’s a leader deep inside with his determination. He had a complicated spell at Leicester. He didn’t play, he was injured, was played out of position when he came back.
“I think he’s really happy about returning to Nice, where he knows everyone. I hope he’ll have a great season”.
Despite picking up an assist for Jean-Michael Seri’s deflected goal in the 16th minute, Mendy was handed a 4/10 by L’Equipe for his performance.
So far this season, the Leicester loanee has started three of his first five games since returning to France, which is probably three more starts than he would have achieved at the Premier League club, coming off the bench once under Craig Shakespeare ahead of his move, in a 4-1 EFL Cup win against Sheffield United.
