Rennes still wanting to add Fikayo Tomori to Édouard Mendy deal — report

The Édouard Mendy transfer saga that wasn’t supposed to ever become a transfer saga continues.

The current/latest/last? complications stem from Rennes’ reported desire to include Fikayo Tomori (on loan) in return for their goalkeeper. Their interest in the 22-year old centre back dates back to August 7th, more than two weeks before Chelsea’s own enquiry over Mendy’s availability.

Even though Mendy’s agent, Djily Dieng said that the two teams had found an agreement a couple days ago, the latest report from L’Équipe (via Get French Football News) claims that Rennes are still trying to insert Tomori into the equation, and thus preventing the deal from getting finalized. Mendy has had his bags packed for a while now, but has not flown to London and has in fact returned to training with Rennes.

Adding Tomori into the deal may not sound like a big deal, but the defender is also on the shortlist at Everton, whose need for a centre back, as evidenced by Carlo Ancelotti’s raised eyebrows, is palpable. Not only may that be a better fit, Tomori himself might prefer to stay in England.

In the end, this deal will probably still happen, and happen closer to the €20m initial fee. The transfer window is still open for a few more weeks, though the sooner we get it done, the better.