Chelsea have announced the signing of goalkeeper Mike Penders, who will join the club from the start of the 2025/26 season.
The Belgian star has penned a contract until 2032 and will join his new team-mates after completing the 2024/25 campaign with Genk.
The 19-year-old is 6ft and has been compared to fellow countryman and ex Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
In Declaration of Genk Confirming the deal, they described Penders’ move as a “dream transfer”. He will follow in the footsteps of Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne by joining Chelsea direct from Genk.
Genk’s announcement also claims that Paris Saint-Germain were interested in Penders, but he has committed to Chelsea.
Chelsea are believed to have agreed a fee of up to £17m, including add-ons, to sign Penders, who has played just two senior games so far in his career. At 18 years and 363 days, Penders was the third youngest goalkeeper to make his debut in Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League.
Penders is the fifth senior goalkeeper to sign for Chelsea since being acquired by BlueCo in the summer of 2022, following Gabriel Slonina, Robert Sanchez, Djordje Petrovic and Filip Jorgensen.
The Blues have already agreed deals to bring in two more young stars for the 2025/26 season. Estevao Willian will join from Palmeiras for a fee of £29m, while Kendry Paez from Independiente is £15m. Chelsea have already made ten signings this summer and could make more additions before Friday transfer deadline
