Real Madrid: Mendy to be unveiled at Bernabéu

Following hot on the heels of Rodrygo’s presentation as a Real Madrid player at the Bernabéu on Tuesday, the club’s hierarchy, the media and fans will gather again on Wednesday to unveil France international Ferland Mendy.

The 24-year-old was signed from Lyon for a fee of 48 million euros and arrives in the Spanish capital having been named in the Ligue 1 bext XI in each of the past two seasons. A full Les Bleus international since 2018, Mendy featured for Didier Deschamps’ World Cup winners in their two most recent Euro 2020 qualifiers against Turkey and Andorra.

Zidane's Marcelo conundrum

Mendy will be an interesting addition to the squad in that the left back role is the least assured area of Zinedine Zidane’s back four. Last season Marcelo started out as the first choice but was later relegated to the bench in favour of academy graduate Sergio Regiulón. However, upon Zidane’s return the Brazilian was reinstalled to the first XI with Reguilón barely featuring, despite Marcelo coming in for heavy criticism – some of it from himself – for a below-par season by his usual standards.

Given Mendy’s fee and current form, it will be little surprise if Zidane opts to hand Mendy every opportunity to prove he can slot straight into the Real Madrid defence, with Reguilón likely to be loaned out and Marcelo’s immediate future a bit of a question mark.