Chelsea football chief Petr Cech has explained signing Edouard Mendy from his former club Rennes.

Cech says he was first alerted to the Senegalese keeper three years ago by Christophe Lollichon, his long-time coach who still works at the club, and has closely tracked his progress ever since.

"I started following him when Reims won Ligue 2 and got promoted," Cech told the club's website.

"You could see the first year with Reims in Ligue 1, he made a huge step forward in terms of his progression, and last year after joining Rennes you could really see this amazing progression continue.

"He's someone who blossomed late, and it was maybe unexpected for some people. He's sort of new in top professional football, it's been four years. He's still fresh, but already has a lot of experience.

"'He has the qualities of overcoming difficult moments. It's something that might help him. Coming to Chelsea there is a lot of pressure, but when you have had different pressures in your life before, like he has when he was unemployed and without a job, you might cope much better with pressure from football

"Last year playing with Rennes in the Europa League, and playing for Senegal, it gives him a lot of experience. I believe he will be a great complimentary unit for our team, and challenging our goalkeepers and fighting for the spot."

Cech is as well placed as anyone to explain Mendy's technical qualities. It is clear he makes good use of his 6ft 6in frame.

"He is a very all-round goalkeeper. He is very good with his feet. He has all the range of distribution, from long to short, and as well in the last two years if you watch European football, the way he dominates crossing situations and high balls in the area is unlike anybody else.

"He uses his size and he has great timing to read the trajectory of the ball. He is strong at high balls and commanding the area, and he uses his size very well for saves.

"He will be another piece for the puzzle we are trying to complete, to have a really competitive team to challenge for the highest positions and titles, because Chelsea is all about that. We are a top club and we have top players in each position, and he is here to make even more competition for our goalkeeping department. It gives another option to the manager for this position."