Chelsea have been very active in terms of signing youngsters from all across the globe in recent years, filling up their squad with wonderkids. In some cases, those moves have worked out quite well. In others, they have not, which is the reason why the Blues are still nowhere near being Premier League contenders despite spending more money than any other club since their change in ownership. Yet, it looks like they remain confident in their strategy.
It looks like Chelsea believe that they have a special player in their ranks, although he is currently out on loan. And it is in a position that has been a problem for them for a while now. Is that the reason that they are targeting someone like Maginan, who could come in for nothing, hold onto the first-team gloves for a few years and then pass on the torch?
Of course, we are talking about none other than Mike Penders. The 20-year-old is currently out on loan at Strasbourg and appears to have already established himself as a first-team starter for the French club.
The Stamford Bridge outfit clearly hold him in high regard and view him as someone who can be a starter for the Blues one day. As reported by The Chelsea Chronicle, Matt Law said on the London is Blue podcast:
"We’ve talked about this. They definitely want to keep the Penders pathway open.
"And they definitely do have thoughts that within the next two to three years, even maybe sooner if he has a good season this season, that he is going to be the number one and that they believe he will be right at the top of the game."
Chelsea think player out on loan will become world-class
There is good reason for Chelsea to have high hopes surrounding Penders. He is someone who has done well wherever he has been so far, even though it is a very limited sample size. There is a reason he is called the 'next Thibaut Courtois'.
For Genk, Penders only allowed 23 goals in 26 appearances, keeping 8 clean sheets. For Strasbourg, he has played 7 games so far, keeping 3 clean sheets and conceding 9 times.
There have even been some suggestions that Chelsea might not sign a goalkeeper at all, if Penders ends up having an impressive season with Strasbourg. That would not be a bad decision, if the club are confident that he is ready to be the number one next season. Oen thing is for sure though, the Blues cannot continue with the Robert Sanchez-Filip Jorgensen combination for long, with both goalkeepers struggling to make a positive impression.