Belgian sources say £20m man closer to Chelsea first team than expected | OneFootball

Chelsea’s goalkeeping situation is a source of constant intrigue at the moment, and that doesn’t look likely to change anytime soon.

The Blues have a number one they don’t really trust in Robert Sanchez, and a backup they trust even less.

Djordje Petrovic, who got an extended audition last season, was loaned out to our sister club Strasbourg this season, showing there wasn’t much faith in him either.

The wildcard in all this is Mike Penders, the teenage Belgian giant signed for £20m last summer and left on loan at Genk. From everything we hear, there’s serious excitement about his potential, but he’s a long way off Premier League ready. He’s only recently become first choice for Genk, and still has only a handful of senior games to his name.

Penders closer to Chelsea #1 than anyone expected

Mike Penders claims a high ball. (Photo by Virginie Lefour/Belga/AFP via Getty Images)

We haven’t had that much concrete information on what the club think of him, so it’s interesting to hear what VoetballKrant in Belgium are reporting.

They say that Genk are pushing to take him on loan for another season, a plan which Chelsea don’t sound too keen on. The Blues are apparently “looking for extra competition under the bar,” with Robert Sanchez likely to be “saying goodbye.”

Penders himself apparently feels “ready to fight for playing time.”

A loan to Strasbourg to replace Petrovic who could return to Stamford Bridge is also suggested, and that still seems most likely to us. Without doubt Penders is closer to being our first choice now than he would have expected, but chucking him in now would be risky, and leaving him on the bench for a year a waste.

A year at Strasbourg seems to suit everyone – although we wouldn’t be against him staying at Genk either as long as he’s playing every week.