Joe Cole has given a glowing verdict of new Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy ahead of the Blues' tough test against Tottenham on Sunday.
Mendy returned to former club Rennes for the first time on Tuesday as he and his teammates secured Champions League knockout stage qualification with a dramatic 2-1 win thanks to Olivier Giroud's goal at the death.
Following the game, former Chelsea winger Joe Cole spoke about Mendy and his form since arriving at Chelsea from France late in the summer amid the Kepa Arrizabalaga saga.
“He’s been brilliant," said Cole on BT Sport. "When you get a goalkeeper who is assured, it just resonates right the way through the team.
"It gives you a bit more confidence when you’re blocking shots, with your positional play. Chilwell and Thiago Silva - they’ve all been brilliant.
"But at the start of the season, because of the turnaround, he couldn’t play those new players, he was trying to get them fit. Thiago Silva, 36-year-old, he wasn’t fit, he needed time to get into it. Now, he looks like a Rolls Royce, he’s one of the best centre-halves in the league.”
Mendy joined Chelsea on a deal worth around £22million having impressed in Ligue 1 for Rennes, coming in to replace Kepa as the Blues' number one with the Spaniard struggling for form since his arrival.
Remarkably, in his five Premier League games so far, Mendy has only conceded one goal, keeping a clean sheet in four games, also managing shut-outs in three of the four games he has played for the Blues in the Champions League.
That sort of form will allow Chelsea peace of mind as they head into Sunday's clash with Tottenham when they will face the second-best strike-force in the league.
Spurs have managed 21 goals in the Premier League so far this season, just one less than Lampard's men, scoring in every game since their opening day loss to Everton.
