5 things you didn’t know about Manchester City target Benjamin Mendy

After signing Bernardo Silva from Monaco earlier this summer, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are set to raid the French champions once more, this time to claim the services of left-back Benjamin Mendy.

Over the course of the last year, the 22-year-old has come into his own for the Stade Louis II outfit, catching the eye particularly with his offensive game. He might have been the only regular member of Monaco’s outfield unit who failed to score a Ligue 1 goal in 2016-17, but the defender was an impressive force nevertheless, largely because his crossing was so regularly perfect.

He is a player capable of generating a terrific amount of excitement – “I was lucky to make an assist in my second professional match and it’s not stopped from there,” he said – but he was also vital to Monaco away from the field and will be sorely missed in the principality.

Here are five things every City fan should know about a player expected to sign up for them soon:

#1 He is the life and soul of the dressing room

Mendy is not only a sprightly character on the field, he is equally lively in the changing room. The defender was Monaco’s practical joker last season, often found up to pranks, such as putting ice cubes in his team-mates’ socks.

He has the habit of winding his fellow professionals up on social media, too. “Mbappe was not keen to go and celebrate with his team-mates after winning the title,” one journalist tweeted. “And that’s not a joke.”

Mendy replied in a deadpan manner: “He has school tomorrow.”

Also read: 5 defenders who made a name for themselves this season

In another interview, he was asked if he was impressed with the youngster, to which he replied: “Frankly? On the PlayStation he’s really good.”

He also joked that the young striker would have been disappointed after completing a perfect season on the field by ‘only’ getting a mark of 19/20 from one of his exams.

Additionally, he is the dressing room DJ at Monaco, playing tunes by Belgian rapper Le Dé to celebrate winning Le Championnat.