Didier Deschamps Confirms Ferland Mendy Will Complete Real Madrid Transfer

Tom Sunderland @@TomSunderland_Featured ColumnistJune 10, 2019

LYON, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 19: Ferland Mendy of Olympique Lyon gestures during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg match between Olympique Lyonnais and FC Barcelona at Groupama Stadium on February 19, 2019 in Lyon, France. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images)

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France manager Didier Deschamps has said Ferland Mendy will become a Real Madrid player this summer following strong rumours the Lyon left-back would be heading to Spain.

Robbie Dunne of AS wrote that the rumoured €50 million (£44.6 million) transfer will be completed pending a medical. Deschamps spoke to the media ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Andorra and confirmed the move while complimenting his star:

B/R Football @brfootball
Deschamps drops a big hint on Ferland Mendy to Real Madrid 👀 https://t.co/muxlyMW0i7

The France boss said: "Two years ago, he was in the second division and now he will play at Real Madrid. He can play on either side, and his development is stunning."

Ligue 1 reporter Mohamed Bouhafsi previously said Mendy would undergo a second medical with the Madrid giants prior to completing the move:

Mohamed Bouhafsi @mohamedbouhafsi
Ferland #Mendy and Madrid. There wasn't an issue with his medical. But Real Madrid docs wanted to do additional testing they couldn't do at Clairefontaine, so he'll need to continue his medical after his NT duty. No deal yet between Lyon and Madrid.

Real are wary of a hip problem, but the player's party are said to be confident the transfer will go through, per Dunne.

The 24-year-old is one of several high-profile Lyon players to have been linked with a departure this summer. Memphis Depay, 25, has been rumoured as a possible departure and recently reiterated to AD (h/t Fox Sports) that he wouldn't be at Lyon for the rest of his career.

Mendy represents the second new defensive arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer after Los Blancos confirmed the signing of centre-back Eder Militao from Porto in March.

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Real have also signed Eden Hazard from Chelsea and Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively. Sportswriter JJ Bull baulked at the splurge—and mentioned other rumoured targets in Paul Pogba and Christian Eriksen—before warning of the potential pitfalls:

JJ Bull @jj_bull
Real Madrid are on some weird mission. Jovic €70m, Mendy €50m, Militao €50m all done and then possible Hazard €100m, Eriksen €70-80m, Pogba €100m. They can sell some lads to make it back up but is the plan to go bankrupt then start again in a new 🇪🇺 super league?

Deschamps handed Mendy his senior international debut against Uruguay in November and has continued to promote the defender. The Frenchman appeared proud that another of his stars is set to join one of Europe's heavyweights.

Marcelo's dip in form last season opened the path for Sergio Reguilon to gain time as Real's first-choice left-back, but Mendy, a countryman of manager Zinedine Zidane, will be ready to take the starting place.