Real Madrid have agreed a deal to sign French international Ferland Mendy from Lyon on a six-year contract, the club announced on Wednesday.
Real Madrid have made an official announcement to confirm that they have secured the services of Ferland Mendy after reaching an agreement with Lyon to sign the defender in the summer transfer window. The French international has signed a six-year contract with Los Blancos, with the player set to be officially presented next week.
Ferland Mendy has made giant strides upon joining Lyon from Le Havre in the summer of 2017. In the two years he was with the Ligue 1 giants, the 24-year-old has progressed leaps and bounds and is now full fledged French international, having made his debut for the national side towards the end of last year.
??⚡ #RMFans, meet our latest signing @ferland_mendy!#WelcomeMendy | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/h6kBuhbyeX
— Real Madrid C.F. ???? (@realmadriden) June 12, 2019
As for his club career, Mendy grew in stature slowly before eventually establishing himself as the first-choice left-back. In fact, in his second and final season at Lyon, the player missed just three games when he was available, amassing 44 appearances across all competitions. And, his exploits caught the attention of some of the biggest clubs in the world.
Barcelona were the first of European royalty to be linked with Mendy. But, after the initial links, interest from the La Liga champions fizzled out, with arch-rivals Real Madrid taking over. In recent weeks, it has been all Real Madrid, who have now confirmed the deal for the French international.
Los Blancos are in the middle of a summer rebuild project that has already seen them acquire three players. Eder Militao was the first player whose deal was announced by Real Madrid and it has since been followed by deals for Luka Jovic and Eden Hazard, whose move from Chelsea was confirmed last week.
With Brazilian prodigy Rodrygo also set to arrive this summer, Mendy would become the fifth player who is set to complete his move to Real Madrid. And, the left-back slot was one that needed strengthening this summer, although it is likely to come at a cost.
2018-19 saw Marcelo experience his worst season at Real Madrid, having even dropped to status of being second-choice left-back while Santiago Solari was in-charge. Things changed upon the return of Zinedine Zidane, but the Brazilian only continued to falter.
With Sergio Reguilon evidently not enjoying the Frenchman’s confidence yet, securing a long-term solution in the form of Mendy’s signing seems like an ideal solution. With the 24-year-old on board, Zidane could, in theory, slowly start phasing out Marcelo while inculcating the player into the first-team setup.
A move for Mendy thus, made sense for Real Madrid, who had recently submitted an offer for him. And, the transfer has now been completed, with Lyon and the Merengues reaching an agreement over the move. The French defender has signed a six-year deal with Real Madrid and will officially be presented on June 19.
With the latest signing, Real Madrid have taken one more step towards completing what looked like a daunting rebuild project. While the futures of Sergio Reguilon, Theo Hernandez and Achraf Hakimi might have become somewhat uncertain as a result, Zidane has addressed an immediate problem, setting his side up well for the upcoming season.
