The story of Papy Mendy’s resurgence at Leicester City

This summer, Papy Mendy looked to be surplus to requirements at Leicester City, with a transfer away from the East Midlands looking likely. Less than two months later, the Frenchman is a key part of Brendan Rodgers’ plans. Here’s the story of his resurgence.

Following Papy Mendy’s arrival at Leicester City in the summer of 2016, the defensive midfielder certainly had big shoes to fill. The East Midlands club had just been crowned Premier League champions despite being odds-on favourites for relegation, with the signing of N’golo Kanté playing no small part in their success. The eventual World Cup winner was named Leicester’s Player of the Year in his only season in the club, while finding himself a place in the PFA Team of the Year alongside three other Foxes.

However, an unfortunate release clause in Kanté’s contract left Leicester powerless in their attempts to retain their star man when England’s top clubs looked to pick apart their title-winning squad. A transfer to Chelsea looked increasingly likely, so Papy Mendy was quickly brought in to cover his counterpart’s inevitable departure. Less than two weeks later, Kanté was a Chelsea player.

Injury, loan spell and Claude Puel.

At first, Mendy’s arrival in the East Midlands looked to be a bit of sloppy recruitment from Leicester- one diminutive Frenchman was brought in to replace another, with very little thought going into what they really needed from him. Nobody expected the Foxes to replicate last season’s feat, but replacing Kanté was always going to be a big ask.

To make matters more difficult for Mendy, the midfielder suffered a horror ankle injury on his league debut against Arsenal, leaving him sidelined for three months and meaning that the Kanté-shaped void in Leicester’s midfield remained. Wilfred Ndidi was brought in that December to bolster the Foxes’ defensive midfield, with the Nigerian’s rise from here seemingly meteoric.

Mendy’s eventual return to the team would come in the form of a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Porto in the Champions League- his only appearance in Europe that season, while only featuring five times in the Premier League. It seemed that Ndidi’s growing presence in the squad had left Mendy surplus to requirements at Leicester, and so the defensive midfielder was quickly shipped back out on loan to Nice.

One loan spell later, and Mendy’s luck at Leicester finally seemed to take a turn for the better. The installation of Claude Puel as manager brought with it a change of tactics- the Frenchman preferred a 4-2-3-1 formation, with both Ndidi and Mendy operating as a double-pivot. However, results quickly soured under Puel- many felt that a second defensive midfielder was not necessary with the indomitable Ndidi in the squad, with Mendy unfairly scapegoated for the Foxes’ lack of creativity in the midfield. It seemed that a negative association had formed between the Frenchman and ‘Puel-ball’, and one that would take a while to shake.

Resurgence under Rodgers.

From here, another change of management occurred as Brendan Rodgers took the helm of Leicester City, with another change of tactics to follow. Rodgers quickly established 4-1-4-1 as his favoured formation, with Mendy dropping to the bench after working so hard to establish himself as a starter under Puel. The Foxes enjoyed a stunning campaign in the 2019-20 season, finishing fifth as Ndidi established himself as a truly world-class defensive midfielder, while Mendy only made seven league appearances that season.

Once again, luck had not favoured the Frenchman, with an exit from the East Midlands now looming. Despite offering him relatively little game time, Rodgers praised Mendy’s work rate in training and opted to extend his contract– a decision met with mixed emotions from Foxes fans amidst a lack of signings that summer, with the negative connotations of Puel-ball following Mendy like a bad smell.

However, it looks as though Rodgers was correct in his decision, as Mendy looks revitalised as a player this season. At first, a lack of available centre-backs meant that Ndidi was deployed as a defender for the first two games of the campaign, with Mendy deputising at defensive midfield superbly. Leicester’s season then appeared to be jeopardy early on as Ndidi himself was ruled out with a long-term injury, but once again Mendy stepped up to the plate when he was needed the most, with Ndidi’s absence hardly noticed.

Of Leicester’s games played this season, Mendy has been instrumental in the Foxes’ wins and without blame in their losses, owing to consistently great performances from the Frenchman. The midfielder’s passing range and quality on the ball has been a severely underrated aspect of his game for a while now, and offers Leicester City another dimension when he plays.

It seems that despite years of bad press and a lack of game time, Papy Mendy has been constantly working hard behind the scenes for a chance to chance to show his worth, and I couldn’t be happier that he’s finally able to do so.