In recent seasons, Sevilla FC has been struggling. If in Europe, the Andalusian club has often been successful, notably in the Europa League with recent coronations in 2020 and 2023, in La Liga, it is more complicated. Since its 4th place in 2022, Sevilla FC has had a string of pitiful performances. Twelfth in 2023, fourteenth in 2024 and even seventeenth last season, the rojiblanco club had to change things this summer so as not to continue to slide dangerously towards the red zone. Recovering 55 million euros with the sales of Loïc Badé (Bayer Leverkusen), Dodi Lukébakio (Benfica) and Stanis Idumbo (AS Monaco), the Nervionenses were able to strengthen themselves at a lower cost.
In defense, the experienced Fabio Cardoso (31 years old) and César Azpilicueta (36 years old) arrived from FC Porto and Atlético de Madrid. Goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos was loaned by Newcastle when former Toulouse player Gabriel Suazo and Alfon Gonzalez (Celta de Vigo) arrived free. A status that veteran Alexis Sánchez (36 years old) also had. The only player for whom Sevilla spent money (250,000 euros), Batista Mendy (25 years old) arrived in the form of a loan. The defensive midfielder who played for Nantes and Angers and who was coming off two good seasons at Trabzonspor wanted to find a project in a club in the five biggest European championships and the marriage with Sevilla FC is going perfectly.
XXL debut in Seville
Arriving on the very last day of the transfer window, he was mentioned in France at Rennes, Nice and Paris FC. In Spain, he could also have gone to Espanyol Barcelona as we revealed to you, but the file fell through. A lesser evil for Batista Mendy who directly showed himself to be an essential part of his team. It's simple, Sevilla, who are currently sixth in La Liga, won 3 points out of 9 before his arrival and have taken 10 out of 15 since he was there. The only defeat since his loan corresponds to the only match he did not start against Villarreal.
Forming a complementary trio with another Frenchman Lucien Agoumé and the Swiss Djibril Sow, Batista Mendy provides the balance that was missing in the Andalusian 4-3-3. Able to play central defender, he does not hesitate to drop out to help Marcao and Tanguy Nianzou and contributes a lot in transitions. Latest test last Sunday against FC Barcelona. Valuable in midfield during his team's 4-1 victory, Batista Mendy showed that he was one of the star recruits of the summer in Spain. Le Courrier Andalou also gave him an 8/10 on his notes for the match: he played a very good role with Agoumé in a double pivot to stop Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres. He could have scored from a corner. He intercepted several passes in the defensive zone, being a sure bet. A great start which is already pushing the Andalusian club to imagine lifting its release clause of 7.5 million euros. Having left Angers and Ligue 1 in 2023, Batista Mendy has bounced back well in Spain.
