PEP BREAKS THE RECORD AGAIN
Pep’s latest signing Mendy vows to lead the way and be smiles better than the rest
SPLASHING out a world-record fee of £52million for a defender may look crazy – but for Pep Guardiola it makes perfect sense.
Benjamin Mendy’s arrival takes Manchester City’s spending on full-backs to a staggering £130m in the last 10 days.
That is the sort of money clubs shell out for strikers or playmakers, not right-backs and left-backs.
But Mendy and Kyle Walker, who was briefly the world’s mostexpensive defender before the France international’s signing, were Guardiola’s two top targets this summer.
Key to Guardiola’s philosophy of death by a thousand passes, is his insistence that his full-backs push forward into midfield to overload the centre of the park. The departed Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy no longer had the legs for so much running and Guardiola knew this was partly why he finished his first season emptyhanded.
The Catalan, who also signed £26.5m Real Madrid full-back Danilo (right), identified Mendy and Walker as key to his summer overhaul at the Etihad months ago and will be delighted he has both as City’s spending hits a record £206.5m.
And it could go even higher if they could tempt Arsenal to part with Alexis Sanchez, with a City source claiming ‘‘it could go either way’’. Mendy contributed eight assists last season and Walker five and they will provide the dynamism and creativity Guardiola felt was lacking in the full-back positions. Mendy, 23, who cost Monaco just £11m from Marseille a year ago, revealed he decided to join City at the end of last season after winning Ligue 1, although the deal took until yesterday to complete. “This is what I wanted from the very beginning,” he beamed. “As soon as the championship was over, I talked to my family and it was all clear in my head. “I’m a leader, someone who always has a smile on his face and I like to share my happiness with my team-mates. “I think I’m the right person for the group. I’m easily adaptable. There are some players with whom I exchanged a few emails, I knew them from some years ago.”
Mendy (right, against City in the Champions League last season) has been bought to provide assists and feels City are capable of winning trophies.
“I can bring a lot of creativity, offer different solutions,” said Mendy. “I like to play as a full-back and provide assists for the strikers.
“It’s a good thing to be the sixth signing for Manchester City. That means they have an excellent squad and they are trying to make it better. They will have a strong team.”