Manchester City to Keep Faith With Benjamin Mendy After Opting Against Ben Chilwell Move

Manchester City are confident that Benjamin Mendy can put his troubles behind him after shelving plans to pursue Leicester's Ben Chilwell.

Since arriving at the Etihad for a fee of £52m in 2017, Mendy has struggled with a host of injury problems - sustaining knee ligament damage not long after arriving, before suffering metatarsal and meniscus injuries this season.

Pep Guardiola,Benjamin Mendy

Those injuries restricted Mendy to just ten Premier League appearances last season, fuelling speculation that manager Pep Guardiola may look to bring in reinforcements - namely Ben Chilwell of Leicester.

But the Standard report that those plans are now on the back-burner, with City instead looking to put their faith in Mendy ahead of next season. The Citizens have ready replacements waiting in the wings already, in the form of Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has recently signed a new long-term deal, as well as Aymeric Laporte and Fabian Delph.


As well as his injury issues, Mendy has reportedly had a strained relationship with his manager during periods of his City career. 


Guardiola was particularly displeased with the left-back arriving late to a rehabilitation session as ​he had been watching an Anthony Joshua fight the night before, while the French World Cup winner has also irked his manager with his ​active presence on social media and irregular sleep pattern.

Despite this, Mendy's future as the club's first choice left back seems assured, with Man City re-focusing their recruitment effort on the opposite flank. 

City have been linked with ​Juventus right-back Joao Cancelo, in a move that could see Danilo head for the exit door. Former City academy graduate Angelino, meanwhile, has been tipped to return to the club should Cancelo opt to stay in Turin.


Source : 90min