Leicester City’s Nampalys Mendy is in talks over a money-spinning move to Qatari outfit Al-Sadd with Le10 Sport suggesting he could join Xavi and Santi Cazorla in the Middle East.
Back in January, The Foxes would probably have jumped at the chance to sell a bench-warming, dust-collecting midfielder who had played just 71 minutes of Premier League football between August and the end of 2019.
Since the turn of the year however, Mendy has forced his way back into the first-team picture – so much so that manager Brendan Rodgers has spoken publicly about his desire to keep the former Nice midfielder at the King Power Stadium.
“The longer I’ve been here, the more I’ve seen him and the more impressed I’ve been with him,” the former Liverpool and Celtic boss told the Mercury.
But the 28-year-old is now a free agent.
His contract expired after Sunday’s heartbreaking 2-0 defeat to Manchester United, a result which means Leicester have missed out on Champions League football.
As a result, the Midland giants are powerless to prevent Mendy, a £10 million signing in 2016, from walking away for absolutely nothing.
Claude Puel would love to re-sign his former Foxes favourite but, with funds tight at St Etienne, a move to the Middle East is more likely at this stage.
2019 Qatari Stars League champions Al-Sadd have entered talks.
Mendy could become the second marquee signing to join a team managed by Barcelona legend Xavi this summer, after La Liga legend Santi Cazorla bid farewell to Villarreal last week.
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