Why Leicester must cash in on Nampalys Mendy in the January window
According to French publication Le 10 Sport (h/t The Leicester Mercury), Leicester City midfielder Nampalys Mendy is attracting interest from a number of European clubs, including Fenerbahce.
The Frenchman, 27, joined the Foxes for a fee of £13m from OGC Nice in 2016 and has found himself frozen out of the first-team picture under Brendan Rodgers this season. His only appearance this season came away at Bramall Lane for Leicester’s 2-1 win over Sheffield United.
Leicester will be keen to cash in on Nampalys Mendy, whose contract expires at the end of the season, the report adds. (h/t The Leicester Mercury)
The Foxes are flying in the Premier League under Rodgers and sit comfortably at 2nd place in the table, although 10 points behind leaders Liverpool. Rodgers has done a fantastic job at the King Power Stadium since replacing Claude Puel in the second half of last term, transforming a possession-based Leicester side to a free-flowing, attacking juggernaut.
Meanwhile, Nampalys Mendy, who has been at the club for more than three years now, has struggled to get game time this season, having made just one appearance so far.
With Rodgers increasingly preferring Wilfred Ndidi, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans in his team’s engine room, Mendy has found himself out of the side. A regular under Puel for the Foxes last season, the French midfielder managed 31 league appearances.
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With Turkish giants Fenerbahce interested in signing him in January, Leicester must capitalise on this opportunity and sell Mendy as he is of no use to Rodgers at the moment. Moreover, sitting on the fringes may dampen the French midfielder’s spirits, having made 140 appearances for AS Monaco and OGC Nice combined.
Verdict
Having spent this entire season out of the team, it would be better if the Foxes cash in on him rather than keeping him for no reason at all.
At the age of 27, Mendy is perhaps entering the prime years of his career and needs regular game time, something he isn’t getting at Leicester. With the Frenchman’s contract expiring in the summer, it would be wise from the Foxes’ point of view to offload him in January than paying his wages for the entire season.