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'Six years ago I was on the dole and about to take a job in a clothes shop': Chelsea's No 1 Edouard Mendy on his journey from football's scrapheap to the brink of Champions League glory

Edouard Mendy stares into the screen and thinks back to the way things were when he was at his lowest ebb.

His voice quickens a little when he recalls being released by his French third division club in the summer of 2014 and the increasingly frantic messages he sent to his agent asking if anybody else wanted him. The transfer window was about to close. The agent did not return his calls.

He thinks back to his parents' cramped flat in the Le Havre suburb of Caucriauville, the end of the line on the city's tramway.

Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is preparing for a Champions League final next week
He was released by a French third tier side in 2014 and moved in with his mum (left) and dad

NO1s OUT OF AFRICA

Edouard Mendy hopes to be a pathfinder for African goalkeepers, who are few and far between in the top divisions in Europe.