Premier League: Manchester City sign Benjamin Mendy

Manchester City continue to spend vast sums of money on new players as they have confirmed the signing of AS Monaco defender Benjamin Mendy for 52 million pounds. The 23-year-old French left-back signed a five-year contract with the Citizens after having spent just one season at AS Monaco. Manchester City have signed five players so far this summer and spent over 200 million pounds to get them. Mendy played in 34 matches for Monaco last season and helped them win the Ligue 1 title after a 17-year drought. "He is undoubtedly one of the world's best full-backs," said Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain. Mendy said: "I am very proud. This is what I wanted from the very beginning. As soon as the championship was over, I talked to my family and it was all clear in my head: I wanted to join Manchester City. I think I am the right person for the group. I am easily adaptable. There are some players with whom I exchanged a few emails, I knew them from some years ago." Manchester City have signed right-back Kyle Walker from Tottenham for 45 million pounds, midfielder Bernardo Silva from Monaco for 43 million pounds, goalkeeper Ederson Moraes from Benfica for 35 million pounds and right-back Danilo from Real Madrid for 26.5 million pounds. Last week Manchester City completed the sale of 31-year-old left-back Aleksandar Kolarov to AS Roma for 4.5 million pounds. Benjamin Mendy will surely become the first-choice left-back for manager Pep Guardiola after Manchester City have also released Pablo Zabaleta at the end of last season. Mendy joined Monaco from Marseille last summer for 11 million pounds and has already won 4 caps for the senior national team. He has also represented France at all youth levels, starting with Under-16. Manchester City are 15/8 at Bet365 to win the Premier League title next season.