Nampalys Mendy (born 23 June 1992) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for English side Leicester City. Due to his small stature, simple distribution, and reliable style of play, has been compared to former French international, Claude Makélélé whom Monaco club scout Didier Christophe referred to Mendy as a "carbon copy" of. Mendy is a French youth international having earned caps at under-17, under-18 level, and under-19 level. He played with the under-17 team at the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship.