When Nampalys Mendy arrived at Leicester City, he had big shoes to fill: those of N’Golo Kanté.
The two players presented very different profiles, but the idea was for the defensive midfielder to help protect the defence, much like he did successfully at OGC Nice.
However, a series of ankle injuries kept him out of the starting line up for most of his first season, and the now 27-year-old then found it hard to get regular minutes at King Power Stadium until the 2018-19 campaign when Claude Puel was in charge.
The subsequent sacking of the Frenchman and arrival of Brendan Rodgers unfortunately limited his game time once more and the former France U21 international is now in a position where he will not have his contract renewed at Leicester.
A free agent in the summer, Mendy is attracting a lot of attention, with reports that Saint-Étienne, where Puel is currently manager, are after him, but they aren’t the only ones.
RMC Sport on Tuesday reveal that Bordeaux, where former Leicester City man Eduardo Macia is in charge of transfers, ‘really appreciate’ the defensive midfielder’s profile.
The problem, as will be the case with most Ligue 1 sides keen on Mendy, is the player’s wages, described as ‘very important’ for a club like Paulo Sousa’s.
We’ll have to wait and see, as it’s entirely possible the Leicester man agrees to take a wage cut to find first-team football again this summer.
This would suit many French clubs, who will remember his seasons at Nice before his move to England, hoping they can get him back to similar levels once again.
