Alan Pardew has stated that goalkeeper Steve Mandanda’s ability to build play from the back has impressed him.
Speaking to the Daily Star, Alan Pardew has explained that Steve Mandanda’s ability with his feet has allowed Crystal Palace to exert more control during matches.
Palace boss Pardew enjoyed a very fruitful time during the transfer window this summer by bringing in a host of high profile players to Selhurst Park, and the capture of Steve Mandanda for just £1.5 million was arguably the best bit of business conducted by the 55-year-old over the close season.
Mandanda has been able to establish himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe following a wonderful nine-year spell at Marseille, and for Palace to have signed the 31-year-old for such a low fee can certainly be seen as a major coup.
More importantly, Mandanda has made a very good start to life at Palace with two encouraging performances in the Premier League and Pardew has now gone on to reveal that he has already been impressed by what he has seen of the goalkeeper so far.
The Palace manager stated that Mandanda’s ability to build play from the back has allowed the Eagles to enjoy more control and added that the French international is one of the most confident players he has ever seen.
He told the Daily Star, “That was why I wanted to bring him – I felt I wanted my team to build the play a little bit more and have control of the game, so you need a goalie who can deal with the ball. Our goalies are decent but that happens to be his real strength and, of course, he has fantastic experience from his time at Marseille.
“He’s also a real character. When you see him in and around the place, you can’t help but feel confident with him. He’s such a powerful personality and he’s so calm – sometimes I just shake him to see if he’s alive! He’s going to be a really big favourite here.”
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