Hull City have completed a club-record signing, bringing in Senegal international centre-back Nobel Mendy from Rayo Vallecano for a fee reported at around €25m, with the Spanish club said to have received about €20m plus add-ons. The 21-year-old has signed a five-year contract, with the option of a further year, keeping him at the MKM Stadium into the next decade. The move eclipses the record Hull set earlier this month when they signed goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis, underlining how much the club are prepared to spend as they prepare for life back in the Premier League.
Hull go into their first top-flight season in nine years needing a defence built for Premier League football rather than the Championship, and Mendy was identified as the priority target to help make that step up. He is left-footed, comfortable bringing the ball out under pressure, and can play at centre-back or left-back, which gives head coach Sergej Jakirović extra flexibility across the back line. That versatility, combined with his experience of high-pressure European knockout football at just 21, explains why Hull moved quickly and paid a club-record fee once talks with Rayo advanced.
Rayo Vallecano only turned Mendy's move permanent two months ago, taking up an option to sign him outright from Real Betis after a season-long loan, so his sale represents a fast and substantial profit for the La Liga club. Real Betis, in turn, are reported to have received around €4m as part of a sell-on arrangement from the original loan-to-buy deal. For Rayo, losing Mendy means replacing a defender who started regularly throughout their run to a major European final and had become one of their most important players.
Mendy made 28 appearances for Rayo in his only season at the club, scoring twice, and was a first-choice centre-back as they reached the Conference League final, where they lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace in May. It was the second year running he had featured in that final, having done so with Real Betis against Chelsea the previous season while on loan there before his switch to Rayo. He won his first Senegal cap in March, in a friendly against Gambia, and arrives at Hull with more big European nights behind him than most 21-year-old defenders.
At Hull, Mendy is expected to go straight into Jakirović's starting eleven as the club build towards their Premier League opener at home to Manchester United on 22 August. He is the eighth summer signing since promotion, part of a rebuild funded after Hull won their place back in the top flight under a transfer embargo last season. "I have wanted to play in the Premier League since I was little, so it's a great challenge to face and I am ready for it," Mendy said after the move was confirmed. "I am a very athletic player, and I am a defender at heart... I really enjoy coming out from the back cleanly and aggressively when needed" — exactly the kind of defending Hull will be relying on him for this season.