Mike Penders has admitted he didn’t see his transfer to Chelsea coming, but can’t wait to get started at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea agreed a deal last summer with Belgian club Genk to sign the 19-year-old for around €20m as they beat off competition from Paris Saint Germain.
The decision was taken for Penders to remain in Belgium to continue his development this season and he will link up with his new team-mates in the summer.
Penders shocked by Chelsea interest
Penders was one of two goalkeepers Chelsea signed last summer, with Filip Jorgensen the other, and the Blues are said to have high hopes for the duo.
Jorgensen replaced Robert Sanchez for the game against West Ham earlier this month, and it seems he’s now going to be given a run in the side.
Penders, is now featuring regularly for Genk having started the season as the second choice keeper and he’s made seven starts in the league keeping three clean sheets.
The Belgian is still very young, but the Blues have clearly seen something in him and believe he could be a top talent for the future.
Penders admitted the move to west London came as a complete surprise to him and revealed PSG didn’t want to pay the asking price.
“I didn’t see it coming, Chelsea and PSG are not the smallest clubs,” he told Belgian outlet 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.
“Chelsea did not choose me based on a few games in the first-team, 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 is physically imposing and stands at 6ft 7in and it will be interesting to see if Chelsea decide to keep him as part of the squad next season.
