BT Sport pundit and ex-Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has told manager Thomas Tuchel that he cannot replace Edouard Mendy amid the goalkeeper's great form at the start of the 2021/22 campaign.
Mendy, 29, produced a man-of-the-match performance in the European champions' narrow and fortuitous 1-0 win against fellow west London side Brentford in the Premier League.
Therefore, it wasn't a surprise to see the Yashin award nominee start between the sticks for Tuchel's side in the important Group H Champions League game against Swedish Champions Malmo on Wednesday night.
Ahead of the game, the 29-year-old was the talk of the town and Cole heaped a bundle of praise onto the Senegal international after his superb early season form in all competitions.
The former went as far to inform manager Tuchel that the £22million signing is 'irreplaceable' amid concerns of Mendy's absence in the new year due to the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
"Some of the saves he's made over the last six months have been out of this world," Cole told BT Sport.
"Kepa was having a real tough time so they bought Mendy in. People didn't know if he was going to be a stop-gap or not. But he's repaid the faith in him from Petr Cech.
"He's arguably their most important player alongside Kante. He'll win you games."
Eni Aluko then went on to add: "He's arguably Chelsea's most important player. He's irreplaceable.
"His omission from the Ballon d'Or list is very odd."
Mendy ended up having a rather easy game in goal for Chelsea against Malmo due to the fact that he didn't have to make a single save.
This may not be the case when Norwich City come to town for the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday in the Premier League.
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