Kristjaan Speakman has been defiant in his message this summer in that Sunderland have never abstained from bringing in so-called ‘senior’ players, despite the average age of the squad dropping in each of the last two seasons. But are Sunderland about to do something they haven’t for a number of years and bring in an established centre-forward?
Twelve months ago, Sunderland deployed their faith in ‘potential’ as they sided with young and unproven strikers from around Europe including Luis Hemir Semedo from Portugal, Nazariy Rusyn from Ukraine, Eliezer Mayenda from Spain and Chelsea’s Mason Burstow on loan.
It followed on from the summer of 2022 when Sunderland’s forward addition came in the shape of 21-year-old Ellis Simms. While Simms, again, represented a dip into the ‘potential’ market, the Everton striker at least had experience of English football at a senior level having enjoyed a successful loan spell with Blackpool, in addition to a notable loan in the Scottish Premiership with Hearts.
You actually have to go back to January 2022 for the last time Sunderland recruited what could be considered an established centre-forward when former striker Jermain Defoe came back to the club in League One from Rangers. Perhaps the way in which Defoe’s last dance transpired is what has given Sunderland’s hierarchy the proverbial heebie-jeebies over signing a senior out-and-out forward in the subsequent transfer windows. Sunderland’s moves for Danny Graham and Will Grigg in recent years during their time spent in League One will also rekindle miserable memories of experienced strikers failing to live up to their expectation in recent years.
But given Sunderland’s struggles with putting the ball in the back of the net from a centre-forward last season, and the focal point someone leading the line can bring, there has been a unanimous shift in the demand for an established striker to be brought to Wearside over the last 12 months.
Ross Stewart, albeit experienced in age, was untried at a high level when he arrived in January 2021 before going on to promote himself as one of the club’s most successful transfers of recent history having scored 40 goals in 80 appearances before being struck with a series of significant injuries and eventually being sold to Southampton.
Those numbers are hard to replace at any level, but given Sunderland’s expectations were to build on their sixth place finish in 2022-23, the need to replenish some of those missing goals from Stewart were paramount last summer and even more so this time around.
Enter Alexandre Mendy.
Although senior club sources were recently keen to downplay Sunderland’s links to SM Caen’s 30-year-old centre-forward, Mendy’s prospective move to the North East has continued to build up a head of steam over recent days following the club’s pre-season training camp in Spain.
Mendy was top scorer in France’s Ligue 2 last season with an impressive 22 goals in 37 appearances for the side who finished sixth in the division and the Guinea-Bissau international looks set to leave the Normandy-based club this summer after four years.
Mendy arrived at Caen from Bordeaux in 2020 having spent the previous two seasons on loan with Guingamp and Stade Brestois. Mendy came through the ranks at Nice, where he was a team-mate of former Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Hatem Ben-Arfa.
Despite a strong record in front of goal with Nice’s B team, it wasn’t until Mendy’s move to Caen where he really confirmed his goalscoring instincts having made 76 goal contributions [65 goals and 11 assists] in 142 appearances at the Stade Michel d'Ornano. Mendy struck a one-in-two ratio in his second season with Caen which drew the attention of Scottish Premiership champions Celtic and Ange Postecoglou who bid a reported £3million for the player, only for the deal to be turned down with Celtic, instead, turning their focus to Montenegro’s Sead Hakšabanović.
It was the beginning of what has been continuous speculation over Mendy’s future in recent years as he has progressed from season-to-season, increasing his goal tally from four to 16, to 19 and then 22 last year.
Last summer, just weeks before the close of the transfer window, former Caen head coach Jean-Marc Furlan insisted it would take an offer of €90m to pry Mendy away, having declared the striker as happy in the north of France.
Furlan said: “We are still waiting for two or three players who could allow us to take a step forward. We would like a very high-level defensive midfielder and to complete the attack. There is no question that Alexandre Mendy will leave. Besides, he likes it here.
“I haven't even talked to him about it because he's not going to break, period. Unless a club offers 90 million euros.”
Fast-forward to this summer, however, and Mendy’s circumstances with Caen appear a little more complex, with the striker keen to move. New head coach Nicolas Seube recently appeared resigned to losing his star striker after Mendy was missing from a pre-season friendly with Annecy.
“The Mendy [situation] is not simple because the club wants to have a financial return on its sale, and the solicitations are not up to what it hopes,” Seube was quoted by Ouest France.
“This period is long, and for the technical staff and for the player. I hope that we will find the best common ground to prepare Alex well, and that everything is aligned so that he leaves in the best conditions.”
Mendy has been the subject of interest across Europe and from Saudi Arabia this summer but the player looks to have his heart set on a move to Wearside after reports from FootMercato last week revealed the striker has made up his decision despite Sunderland, at that stage, yet to agree a fee.
“When Sunderland arrived, there was no more debate,” Mendy said. “I could have gone into exile in Saudi Arabia with the idea of a golden retirement, but I still have things to do in football and when [my advisor] called me to tell me Sunderland, it was as if I had blinkers on. It’s a sporting choice and I’m really looking forward to starting this new adventure.
“I know the club well, he told me about the president Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, his values and his convictions which are those that I share. There’s also the coach Régis Le Bris, a very strong tactical coach, who can help me move up a level. He exudes serenity and natural strength. I know that it’s a club that can bring me a lot.”
Reports in France have suggested Sunderland have already seen a bid in the region of £1m turned down for Mendy, although club sources rejected that claim as recently as last weekend. Mendy is, however, believed to be high on Sunderland’s radar as the club’s hierarchy continue to monitor their options for a potential centre-forward addition given last season’s struggles.
But should Sunderland firm up that interest, it’s expected to take more than the mooted £1m to bring Mendy to the Stadium of Light, with the 30-year-old contracted with Caen until 2026. Luke Entwistle, editor of Get French Football News, believes it may take a fee as much as four-times that when speaking to Football League World.
“You’re buying someone who’s prolific," Entwistle told FLW. "His output is very high. He is an experienced striker and someone who does also have international experience, which is handy.
“He has experience in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. He’s been all over the place and has scored a decent amount of goals in a lot of the places that he’s gone.
"He’s maybe your Jermain Defoe type. He’s played for numerous clubs; he’s got a decent record wherever he’s gone. He keeps moving around, but he got 22 goals last season.
“Ligue 2 is a difficult league to score goals in, so to get 22 goals in Ligue 2 is a significant amount. At Championship level, it is hard to say to what extent that translates, but within French football he’s been a pretty sure-fire bet.
"[£3m-£4m] is fair given he’s got two years remaining on his deal, and he’s 30-years-old. He's a very prolific goalscorer, but I think that’s a fair fee for a player of that age and in that contract situation."
At some point, however, Sunderland’s need to find a proven goalscorer will need to outweigh the alternatives.
During his first press conference as head coach, Régis Le Bris tried to ease the burden on needing an outright centre-forward to rely on scoring all a teams goals, but given that outside of Jack Clarke Sunderland scored just 33 goals last season, it is an area they have to improve on.
But is Mendy the player to do that?
At 30-years-old he would bring a welcome change to the format of Sunderland’s recent recruitment and would also suggest a significant amount of faith being placed in his ability to succeed by all at the club, including Le Bris who will undoubtedly be familiar with the player from his time in France with Lorient.
Mendy was Ligue 2’s top scorer by seven goals last season ahead of Auxerre’s Ado Onaiwu. He out-performed his expected goals (xG) of 18.0 by four and he had the second most shots in the division at 95 behind Rodez’s Kilian Corredor (102) – Mendy’s xG per shot was around 0.19, as per Wyscout.
One notable stat from Mendy’s 2023-24 campaign with Caen was that he ranked second in Ligue 2 for touches in the opposition penalty area with 182, according to Fbref. Only Clarke saw more touches of the ball in the opposition box for Sunderland last season while Mendy’s total was 72 more than the four strikers Sunderland signed last summer combined and almost double the amount of touches which Jobe Bellingham had, who ended up being utilised as Sunderland’s centre-forward in the closing weeks of the season.
It means Sunderland would be getting a real ‘penalty area’ type centre-forward, something they, too often, missed last season when getting into promising areas out wide.
And it’s something you can notice when analysing a number of his goals with Caen over the last 18 months. Take his goal to seal all three points against Amiens in February, for example, which highlights his intelligent movement depending on which of his team-mates are in possession.
In the image below, you can see the move starts with full-back Ali Abdi. At this point, Mendy (19) is positioned between the two Amiens centre-backs towards the edge of the 18-yard box. But the movement from midfielder Bilal Brahimi becomes the trigger for Mendy to change his position.
As Abdi threads a smart pass through the first line of Amiens’ press, space suddenly opens up for Brahimi as he is able to gain possession and turn towards goal.
The movement from Brahimi forces one of the centre-backs to commit towards the midfielder while Mendy has cleverly moved onto the shoulder of the opposite centre-back which makes him a potential target for Brahimi to hit with a cross.
Brahimi’s cross is pinpoint for Mendy, who has created space from his marker, and then it is about whether the striker can fashion an effort at goal or not.
Rather than take a touch, Mendy has the confidence to attempt a volley which he fires back across goal and into the corner to double Caen’s lead.
And that positional awareness quickly becomes a theme when analysing Mendy’s productivity in front of goal further.
The example below shows Mendy scoring the only goal of the game in a win over Concarneau which also stems from his positioning.
As Concarneau attempt to play out from the back, Mendy stands in-line between the two centre-backs in anticipation of any ball breaking his way.
Noe Lebreton, pictured above, forces a turnover in play from an overhit pass as the ball falls to Mickaël Le Bihan who is able to take advantage of the situation by sliding a first-time pass into Mendy who is now clear on the edge of the penalty area.
The image below shows how Mendy is on his toes to make a move even prior to the ball reaching Le Bihan.
Mendy takes a touch to control with his right foot, shifting the ball away from the covering defender, before finishing well with his left foot.
The anticipation Mendy shows is something Sunderland have been lacking from their younger, less-experienced forwards who may still be acclimatising as to when to time their runs and which positions to take up as their team-mates build an attack.
Mendy appears to have that instinct locked in.
Take another of his goals from last season against Annecy, where Caen are able to turn a defensive situation into a goalscoring outcome.
Out of possession, Caen press well which forces François Lajugie to turn back to his defender. Lajugie’s pass is read by Mathias Autret, however, as Caen now have the chance to break.
What’s noticable is in the centre of the field, before Autret has total possession of the ball, Mendy is again on his toes and able to attack and exploit the space in behind a high defensive line.
Autret’s cross is excellent and allows Mendy to take the ball in his stride with the striker judging the bounce of the ball ahead of the defender.
Mendy then sets himself and is able to slide the ball into the bottom corner to level the scores before Caen then go on to win the game 2-1 minutes later.
While Mendy’s natural instincts as a striker are appealing, so too is the option he provides his team-mates in being able to provide an out-ball.
So often last season Sunderland were forced to recycle possession down the left side to Clarke because of the lack of options from a focal point to stretch teams and run in behind. It led to a congested and ponderous attack in the second half of the season which left opposition teams feeling that if they were to stop Clarke, they would stop Sunderland.
Having a striker who is capable of both dropping deeper and running in behind would allow Le Bris to mix things up for Sunderland next season and Mendy is someone who can do that.
Take his opening goal against Ajaccio early in the season, for example.
With Autret in possession on the right wing, Mendy peels off the shoulder of his marker and targets the space in behind the left-back as Autret is able to send a direct ball over the midfield press and turn the defenders towards their own goal.
Mendy then shows great strength to hold off the challenge of the defender as he closes in on goal and still has the ability to apply the finish. He went on to score a second in the game as he started the Ligue 2 season with five goals in his first four appearances.
Mendy ranked seventh in Ligue 2 for received long passes last season which highlights how often Caen were able to utilise a more direct approach from back-to-front with him in the team. While Le Bris may be a little more constructive in his approach, having that option is beneficial as we saw in the pre-season win over CD Eldense when Adil Aouchiche’s long ball out to Tom Watson resulted in the opening goal.
Sunderland’s paltry sum of just three goals from their four strikers last season wasn’t just down to being able to provide a direct option for midfielders or defenders, nor was it about simply knowing where to position themselves, it was also down to a lack of thinking like a striker.
Goalscorers have a knack of being in the right place at the right time but that isn’t always a case of being natural. In Mendy’s case, he has had over a decade in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 as well as a number of international appearances to hone his craft. It’s not only about positioning but about knowing how, where and when to time his runs.
The image below shows a great example of Mendy showing his goalscoring initiative when scoring against Aimens towards the end of the 2022-23 season as he times his run across the front of the defender to meet a low cross from Abdi on the left before converting at the near post.
The only time we saw similar movement resulting in a goal for Sunderland was on New Year’s Day when Rusyn was able to produce a similar move against Preston North End to meet Clarke’s cross at the near post to double Sunderland’s lead.
Another example from Mendy came a month earlier in a win over Paris FC where he again timed his run across the defender well after Moussa Sylla had checked back onto his right foot to cross.
This example also demonstrated Mendy’s ability in the air as he guides Sylla’s cross into the far corner.
Sunderland’s output as far as scoring goals from headers and set pieces was limited last season, with Dan Ballard arguably the biggest threat in the air for Le Bris’ team.
Having a centre-forward who is capable in the air would add a different dimension to Sunderland whereby they would not always be forced to find a way through compact defences on the ground, particularly at the Stadium of Light.
Mendy’s goal in a 3-1 win over Bastia last year shows how he would provide a threat from set pieces as he meets Anton Saletros’ floated free kick to guide the ball back across goal and into the corner.
Mendy’s variety in front of goal last season was a particularly pleasing trait for potential suitors. Of his 22 Ligue 2 goals, 11 were scored with his right foot, including five penalties, six were scored with his left foot with five coming with his head.
It suggests Mendy is a threat with the ball at either side as well as in the air which, again, would help provide a different dynamic to Sunderland. It means he would be comfortable receiving possession and turning for goal from either wing as well as the option of competing in the air.
Mendy was ranked 16th in Ligue 2 last season for progressive passes received which means he is quite routinely providing an option for his team-mates, including by dropping deep. Sunderland utilised their strikers in deep-lying roles on a number of occasions last season which perhaps restricted their ability to threaten in behind whereas Mendy has the ability to do both.
The image below shows an example of his hold up play against Valenciennes on the final day of last season. Mendy can be seen dropping back towards the halfway line to meet a loose ball while holding off the defender as a number of runners begin to dart off him.
Mendy successfully brings the centre-back out of position before laying off to Brahimi who is now in a position to attack in a three-on-three with the two additional runners, something which you could visualise being a success under Le Bris with the likes of Clarke, Patrick Roberts, Chris Rigg and Jobe bypassing the striker when dropping deep.
Although Mendy may not necessarily be a pressing forward given he ranked 95th and 105th in recoveries and counter pressing recoveries respectively last season, with the energy of Sunderland's attacking midfield players around him Le Bris would be able achieve that from other areas.
Beyond the versatility of types of goals and attributes Mendy could bring to Wearside, another key factor is his robustness. It’s no secret Sunderland have struggled with injuries over the course of the last year which has then hindered players struggling for form.
Mendy featured in 3,229 minutes in Ligue 2 last season, ranking him 13th overall in the division. That total would have seen him the eighth-most featured player in Sunderland’s team last season but it’s his consistency throughout his time with Caen in particular which impresses.
Mendy has made 142 appearances across four seasons in the north of France and has played 30 or more league games in each of his four years. For Sunderland to be able to bring in someone of such reliability would be a major boost given the amount they rotated their forward line last season.
Although an agreement is yet to be finalised, despite Mendy’s social media activity and persistence that a deal may soon be concluded, it’s easy to see why teams would be interested in taking a chance on the 30-year-old this summer.
Add to that Sunderland’s desperate need for a goalscorer and Mendy suddenly becomes a viable option.
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