Chelsea are close to completing the signing of Genk goalkeeper Mike Penders who will become the eighth shot-stopper on the Premier League club’s books.
The 19-year-old has made the switch to Stamford Bridge as part of a €20m deal and will continue to play in Belgium for the 2024/25 campaign before returning to Chelsea next summer, reports Fabrizio Romano.
Penders has signed a long-term contract with the Premier League giants and it is believed that the London club see huge potential in the 19-year-old talent.
However, this can be viewed as another strange signing made by Chelsea as the youngster becomes the eighth goalkeeper the Blues have on their books. The Belgian joins Robert Sánchez, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, Djordje Petrovic, Gabriel Slonina, Lucas Bergstrom and Filip Jörgensen at Stamford Bridge.
It is scenarios like this that have been enraging fans of the London club as it is this type of spending that has led to the Blues having to sell players such as Conor Gallagher to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations.
Chelsea have been a mess ever since the new owners arrived in 2022 and the goalkeeper situation at Stamford Bridge highlights this.
The Blues already signed Filip Jorgensen as part of a £20.7m deal with Villarreal this summer but have now decided to splash another €20m on Penders. This follows the London club acquiring two goalkeepers last summer with Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic arriving into the Premier League team.
There is no need for this type of spending and Chelsea fans have every right to be frustrated. Pre-season has been a disaster for the Blues and the signs for the upcoming campaign do not look to be positive having ended last season with great results before sacking Mauricio Pochettino.
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