Mike Penders admits he was shocked to learn of Chelsea’s interest last summer and cannot wait to get started at Stamford Bridge.
It was announced in August 2024 that Chelsea had seen off competition from Paris Saint-Germain to agree a deal worth in the region of€20m (£16.7m) for the 19-year-old Genk goalkeeper.
The Blues decided it was best for Penders’ development to stay put at Genk for the time being, though, and the highly rated teenager will complete a move to west London at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Penders started the campaign as Genk’s second-choice ‘keeper but appears to have ousted Hendrik Van Crombrugge as the club’s number one since the turn of the year, making seven starts in total in the Belgian Pro League.
Despite his tender years, Penders may already have spotted a potential path to the first-team at Chelsea given Robert Sanchez’s less-than-convincing performances between the sticks in recent months.
Filip Jorgensen, meanwhile, is yet to establish himself as a regular under Enzo Maresca since his £20m switch from Villarreal six months ago.
But the move to Chelsea came as a complete surprise to Penders and the youngster is keen to keep his feet firmly on the ground.
‘I didn’t see it coming – Chelsea and PSG are not the smallest clubs,’ Penders told Belgian publication De Morgen.
‘PSG did not want to pay what Genk asked. Chelsea, on the other hand, came up with a very concrete plan, both sporting and financially.’
Penders revealed that Chelsea had been keeping tabs on his progress for some time while he was making a name for himself in Genk’s youth teams.
‘Chelsea did not choose me based on a few games in the first-team,’ he added.
‘They had intensively followed me the entire season before at Jong Genk.
‘So, you can see how important the academy is and why you should take those competitions seriously.’
Penders, who stands at 6 ft 7 in, has been capped seven times by the Belgium Under-19 national team.
Last year the promising teen, aged 18 years and 363 days, became the third youngest goalkeeper to make their debut in the history of the Belgian Pro League.
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