Towards the end of last season, Edouard Mendy's form really tailed off.After a brilliant start to 2021/22 at Chelsea and a string of commanding performances during Senegal's Africa Cup of Nations triumph, the goalkeeper looked a bit lost between the sticks.Sure, there was the odd wonderful save from the former Rennes man, but he just wasn't the same commanding presence he had been previously.And unfortunately for Chelsea fans, Mendy's poor spell of form has extended into the team's 2022/23 pre-season campaign.The 30-year-old, like most of his teammates, was sub-par in the 4-0 loss to Arsenal and Mendy wasn't exactly great in Friday's 3-1 victory at Udinese either.In Chelsea's final preparatory fixture before the start of the season, Mendy helped gift a goal to the hosts, which was scored by former Barcelona forward Gerard Deulofeu.The defending was horrendous all round, but Chelsea's goalkeeper failed to properly save two tame efforts on his goal, the latter of them eventually ending up in the back of the net.
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Mendy should be doing far better there.
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea fans have raised concerns over their number one goalkeeper on social media after his suspect antics against Udinese.
Here's some of the best reaction from Twitter:
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will almost certainly stick with Mendy for the first few Premier League games of the season, as dropping him at this point in time would probably do more harm than good.
But should the Senegal international make a string of errors in the matches against Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United, Tuchel may be forced into a re-think.
If Chelsea don't have a consistently good presence in goal, they run the risk of falling behind the competition at the start of the 2022/23 campaign.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - JULY 20: Thomas Tuchel, Manager of Chelsea looks on after the Pre-Season Friendly match between Chelsea FC and Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium on July 20, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham have three of the best goalkeepers around in Ederson Moraes, Alisson Becker and Hugo Lloris, while Arsenal have the ever-improving Aaron Ramsdale.
And, of course, Manchester United possess Premier League veteran David De Gea, who is still among the finest in the business despite his often vocal critics.
Chelsea need the best version of Mendy back as soon as possible and if that cannot be achieved, Tuchel may have to turn to Kepa Arrizabalaga.