Mendy has kept more clean sheets than he has conceded.
When he arrived at Chelsea in September 2020 as a competition for the world's most expensive goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy had a relatively low profile.
Kepa Arrizabalaga's move from Rennes to Manchester City was viewed as a temporary alternative to the error-prone Senegalese international, who moved for a fraction of the cost.
Mendy is the man behind the meanest defence in the league and he has a medal to show for it.
His form has earned him a major upgrade in the latest ratings update.
How did Mendy go from being demoted to being the best goalkeeper in the world after several months of unemployment, to a position where he is now?
Mendy setting the standard.
Mendy has kept nine clean sheets in all competitions so far this season and made a number of pivotal saves to ensure Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea sit top of the Premier League with the division's best defensive record.
He has managed 25 clean sheets in all competitions since the start of the year, which is higher than the number of goals he has conceded.
It's easy to see why his impact has been compared with that of Alisson at the Reds and Ederson at the City, both of whom helped their clubs to the title.
Gary said that if you're going to win a title, there are games where you don't play well, you don't deserve to win the game, but your goalkeeper makes two or three world-class saves.
He has made a difference. When FrankLampard was there, the problem was that they were giving up too many goals.
It's more difficult to score against them because of the change to the back five and the goalkeeper.
The manner in which Mendy reprimanded his teammate for allowing the space to create an opportunity, underscored his commanding presence.
Pat Nevin, a pundit for Radio 5 Live, said that he has only had to do it a few times but he is growing in stature.
He is in the same boat as everyone else because Kepa has improved so he has to be on top of his game.
He is brilliant, his reactions are good, and he is brave. He had some decisions to make at the beginning. He has been more reticent about coming out but he has good people working with him and he has improved with his feet.
He is answering all the questions. You can see that he is getting better in every area of his game. He has control of his box.
Rio Ferdinand says Mendy is a goalkeeper who "instils confidence in a backline", while Tony Cascarino says he is one of the club's best ever signings.
How does he compare to Europe's best?
Mendy's impressive statistics compare favorably with the most celebrated number ones in European football, as well as being the premier league's in-form goalkeeper.
The 29-year-old has a higher save percentage than the great Neuer.
Name.
Number of saves.
Percentage.
The man is named Edouard Mendy.
28.
85%
Ramsdale is a player for the club.
25
80%.
Jose Sa is aWolves
35
75%
David Raya is fromBrentford.
25
70%
Alex McCarthy is fromSouthampton
25
70%
He is well ahead of Real Madrid's Courtois, Donnarumma, and Oblak.
The only surprise is that Mendy wasn't on the Ballon d'Or list.
The keeper played a starring role in the October's win at Brentford, and Tuchel said that he merited inclusion. I'm happy. It's more important that he performs like this than it is that he's on a list.
I hope it doesn't bother him at all. He's not influenced by that. I think we could be on that list as a whole team.
Out of work and ready to quit.
Mendy's journey to the top has been a long one.
The 29-year-old, who was born in the French city of Le Havre, began his career at third-tier Cherbourg in 2011.
At the age of 22, he was out of work and registered with France's unemployment agency, as he considered his future in the game, after waiting for an agent to fulfill an offer from an English League One club that never came.
After a year without a job, Mendy was offered a one-year amateur deal in 2015 as fourth choice at Marseille on a minimum salary, and did enough in the handful of matches he played to earn another year.
He joined Rennes after helping them to promotion. The rest is history.
