It's no secret that Chelsea have a massive goalkeeper problem this season. Manager Enzo Maresca keeps waffling between two subpar options in Filip Jorgensen and Robert Sanchez and neither is worthy of being number one.
The solution to Chelsea's goalkeeper problem might be a player they already have on the books in youngster Mike Penders. The Belgian goalkeeper is currently on loan at Genk where he started his youth career and he is already starting to turn heads at the senior level.
Penders measures in at 6-7 and at least physically reminds us of former Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois. The Athletic surveyed some goalkeeper experts about Penders’ potential and Matt Piszczatowski, a coach at Swedish club Malmo said Penders reminded him of “Courtois and Ederson” and that “he’s kind of a mix of the two”.
This is incredibly high praise for a 19-year-old as Courtois and Ederson are considered among the best goalkeepers in the world.
One thing that Penders has on his side is time. Currently have what looks to be a solid option on loan in Djordje Petrovic who could return to Stamford Bridge next season and reclaim the starting spot. Petrovic has done well at Strasbourg this season and has convinced many Chelsea fans that he is ready for that number one shirt.
Petrovich is 6 years older than Penders so the Blues could lean on the Serbian goalkeeper for a few more years until Penders is ready to take on the pressure of being Chelsea's number one. Having multiple options and timelines is one of the reasons that Chelsea’s ownership group has been focused on buying younger players and signing them to long term deals.
These long-term deals allow for these players to develop either at Chelsea or on loan and it gives the club the benefit of a longer window of time to evaluate them. This approach might make things more difficult for players to find their footing if they are not in the best situation on loan, but it gives the Blues more chances to find the diamond in the rough.
Penders has made 11 starts for Genk this season and has 4 clean sheets to his name with 4 goals conceded over that time. He has a 7.18/10 rating from FotMob for his performances and has helped Genk secure top spot in the Belgian First Division A table.
They now move into their playoff format to determine the champion and we are anxious to see how involved Penders is. The more he plays the more he can display his world class potential and perhaps stake his claim to Chelsea’s number 1 shirt earlier than we expect.