Chelsea’s move for Belgian talent Mike Penders has prompted a reaction from former Club Brugge midfielder Franky van der Elst, who labelled the move ‘shocking’.
Chelsea have continued on their quest to accumulate talented players, and suddenly, they have a stacked goalkeeping lineup ahead of the new season. They already had Robert Sanchez, who new boss Enzo Maresca declared his first choice soon after being appointed manager.
Then there’s Djorde Petrovic and the returning Kepa Arrizabalaga, who will not complete a permanent transfer to Real Madrid after a decent season there. There’s also highly-rated Lucas Bergstrom, who might still be viewed as a future star.
Meanwhile, they recently completed a €25 million move for Villarreal’s Filip Jorgensen, who is now expected to storm straight into the first team and challenge Sanchez for a starting berth. In all, this does leave the futures of Arrizabalaga and Petrovic in significant doubt, and as that unfolds, Chelsea has gone on to sign another goalkeeper for a significant fee.
Chelsea have agreed to a €20 million deal for Genk keeper Mike Penders, which could be higher, according to former Club Brugge midfielder Franky van der Elst. The 63-year-old expressed his concerns over Chelsea’s transfer policy and claimed on HITC via Het Nieuwsblad that the signing of Penders is all the more ‘shocking’.
Franky van der Elst said, “To read right after his first official match for Genk that he is on his way to Chelsea – and for such an amount – that is shocking. “(This sort of transfer activity is) unprecedented. Maybe even unheard of.”
“What Chelsea is doing now – buying, buying, buying and then hoping that one of the many transfers will pay off – I really do not think is good for football.
“Chelsea has seven or eight goalkeepers, right? They just paid €25 million euros for Filip Jorgensen, who is also a young goalkeeper three years older than Penders and has already played for Villarreal’s first team for a season.
“So he will definitely have priority in the near future.”
The 63-year-old does have a point. A recent graphic shared on X showed the depth of Chelsea’s squad, which is unheard of in Premier League terms. The Blues are stacked in every position, and that’s not isolated to the goalkeeping lineup.
While Penders will be allowed to stay at Genk for the current season, the youngster will join the Chelsea first-team ranks next summer. Hence, there’s the tendency to have another big keeper problem next season, and nobody can rule out that Chelsea will not go on to sign another keeper then.
The hoarding of so many talents does leave the squad unbalanced on many levels, which could affect the players’ minds as they will be concerned about their long-term future. Such a feeling hampers the club’s progress in building a long-term and stable team, as Chelsea may or may not reap the benefits of bringing in these talents in the future.
