Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders is reportedly attracting widespread interest ahead of the summer transfer window.
Last summer, the Blues announced that they had acquired the signature of the young Belgian before allowing him to spend the campaign on loan at Genk, the club that they were purchasing him from.
That decision proved to be the best for all concerned, Penders having since accumulated 25 appearances for Genk in all competitions during 2024-25.
The Belgium Under-19 international is now in line to finally arrive at Stamford Bridge, yet his short-term career path remains up in the air.
As per HLN, Penders is currently in line to be part of the Chelsea squad for next month's Club World Cup.
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What three clubs want Penders?
However, after that tournament has concluded, it needs to be determined whether Penders will be promoted to Enzo Maresca's first-team squad or go out on loan.
That decision will realistically be dictated by where his most regular game time will come, and Genk have already signalled their desire to extend his loan by another season.
Strasbourg - who are also owned by BlueCo - are also deemed to be a potential destination, while PSV Eindhoven are allegedly monitoring the situation.
Given Penders's record of eight clean sheets and conceding just 22 goals in 25 matches, it is plausible to expect more clubs to enter the race in due course.
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What will Chelsea do?
Providing that Maresca chooses to retain Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen as his goalkeeping options for 2025-26, Penders will almost certainly move elsewhere.
A return to Genk would make sense in terms of familiarity and remaining settled, and they have qualified for the Europa League playoff round, which essentially means that they are guaranteed some kind of European football next season.
However, sending Penders to Strasbourg may make more sense for Chelsea, particularly if Djordje Petrovic returns to Chelsea or is sold to another team.
If Penders is to move to PSV Eindhoven, it would only to become number one. Current incumbent Walter Benitez - who played all 34 Eredivisie games this season - is leaving the club.
Darren Plant
