Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia has revealed they made Edouard Mendy their No1 goalkeeper target on the recommendation of Petr Cech.
Mendy today completed his £22million move to Chelsea from Rennes and signed a five-year contract.
Frank Lampard has targeted a new keeper after losing faith in Kepa Arrizabalaga, who will be under pressure to perform following the arrival of Mendy.
Chelsea initially identified Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak but had to lower their sights to more affordable options.
Mendy, a 28-year-old Senegal international, excelled after joining Rennes from Reims last summer and helped them qualify for the Champions League.
His signing takes Chelsea’s summer spending to close to £250m and comes following advice from Cech, the former Blues keeper who became their technical and performance adviser after retiring last summer and is influential in their recruitment.
Chelsea director Granovskaia said: “As soon as Petr Cech and our technical team identified Edouard as the most suitable goalkeeper to complement our existing group, there was only one player we wanted to bring in.
Edouard arrives following a season of real success with Rennes, he is ambitious for more and we welcome him to our club.”
Mendy said: “I am so excited to be joining Chelsea. It’s a dream for me to be a part of this exciting squad and to work with Frank Lampard and all of his coaching staff.
"I look forward to meeting my team-mates and can’t wait to get started.”
Chelsea 2020 summer transfer window
Meanwhile, Kai Havertz is relishing the chance to face Tottenham for the first time after his hat-trick against Barnsley last night set up a London derby in the Carabao Cup next week.
Havertz scored three goals and showed glimpses of why he is considered one of the best young talents in Europe as Chelsea eased to a thumping 6-0 win over Barnsley.
The 21-year-old looked rusty in his first two games, against Brighton and Liverpool, after being thrown straight into action following his £70million move from Bayer Leverkusen.
The German midfielder is clearly beginning to settle at Stamford Bridge and his display will go some way to justifying the hype around his big move.
Chelsea are set to face Tottenham in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after Leyton Orient gave up their bid to have the abandoned third-round tie rescheduled.
Havertz said: “I heard that it is a very big derby here and I am looking forward to it.
“I am very happy to score three goals but it is my beginning at the club and I want to score more goals and more goals. That is my goal.
“I think the first two matches were difficult for me because I did not have a pre-season, I only trained for one week with the team. But step-by-step I will be fitter.
“I think that the match [against Barnsley] was very good to get more confidence and I hope to continue like this on Saturday.
“The most important thing is that we won but it is a very big thing for me personally.”
Lampard: “It was a very good night for Kai and the first of many for him.”