Yacine Ayad has explained to Foot Mercato that Galatasaray failed to sign Nampalys Mendy as they did not have enough time to carry out the Leicester City midfielder’s medical.
The Super Lig outfit reached an agreement with the Foxes for his loan transfer on Tuesday. Mendy even gave his blessing to a deal, but will not move to the Turk Telekom Stadium before the Turkish market closes on Wednesday night.
Mendy’s agent, Ayad, deplores the situation his client is now left in after failing to leave the King Power Stadium. The midfielder wanted to join Cimbom for the season, but could not travel to Turkey in time for a medical.
Mendy is currently away with the Senegal squad in Dakar as they strive to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. But he, Ayad and Galatasaray could not plot a plan for his travel to arrive in Istanbul, via Congo – who Senegal faced on Tuesday – in time for the necessary tests.
“With Galatasaray and Leicester, we tried everything to try to get him to Istanbul on Wednesday,” Ayad said. “But the timing was too tight and did not allow us to be able to carry out the medical examination on time. It is fate.”
Mendy to fight for Leicester future after Galatasaray move falls through
Mendy will now have to fight for his future at Leicester, at least until January, after his last-ditch move to Galatasaray fell through. The £55k-a-week midfielder is yet to play a second this season and had struggled for game time since December.
Brendan Rodgers only awarded the holding midfielder seven appearances from 17 Premier League games since January. In those, he only started the action twice, while playing less than 15 minutes on three occasions.
The £17m arrival of Boubakary Soumare from Lille in July did not help Mendy’s chances, either. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has also seemingly moved above the experienced Foxes technician in Rodgers’ plans. The 23-year-old has made all three squads, featuring once.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
