‘He wants to play’ – Club confirm they want to keep Chelsea signing next season

Genk chief Dimitri De Conde has confirmed the club would be keen to extend Mike Penders’ stay beyond the summer.

Chelsea announced that they had completed a deal to sign Penders from Genk last August, with the 19-year-old goalkeeper signing a contract with the Premier League giants until 2032.

However, it was agreed that Penders would remain with Genk for the 2024/25 campaign and – as it stands – the youngster is set to join up with the Blues once the season is complete.

Penders has enjoyed a meteoric rise in Belgian football over the last 12 months, having only made his first-debut for Genk in the side’s goalless draw with Standard Liege in July 2024.

The teenager was aged just 18 years and 362 days at the time and his appearance saw him become the third-youngest goalkeeper in the history of the Belgian Pro League.

This season, Penders started out as Genk’s second-choice ‘keeper but the Belgium Under-19 international appears to have taken over from Hendrik Van Crombrugge as the club’s number one since the turn of the year.

While featuring as a guest on TVL Sportcafe, De Conde heaped praise on Penders for the progress he had made, while underlining the club’s stance on keeping hold of the promising shot-stopper.

‘We would like Penders to stay with us for another year. But that doesn’t depend on Genk. It does depend on Chelsea,’ De Conde, Genk’s technical director, said.

‘The agreement is that he will go to Chelsea next season. Chelsea will see if Mike can play a significant role next season.

‘I know he wants to play. Chelsea also thinks he should play. So never say never.’

De Conde stressed that Genk’s hierarchy had not yet held formal talks with Penders over his options for the summer.

‘We have not discussed it with Mike yet. It is still too early for that,’ he added.

‘Our focus is now on the Belgian Pro League play-offs.

‘After the competition it will soon become clear which direction it is going.’

Speaking to Belgian outlet De Morgan in February, Penders opened up on his impending move to Stamford Bridge and his feelings when he first learned about Chelsea’s interest.

‘I didn’t see it coming – Chelsea and PSG are not the smallest clubs,’ Penders told Belgian publication De Morgen.

‘PSG did not want to pay what Genk asked. Chelsea, on the other hand, came up with a very concrete plan, both sporting and financially.

‘Chelsea did not choose me based on a few games in the first-team.

‘They had intensively followed me the entire season before at Jong Genk.

‘So, you can see how important the academy is and why you should take those competitions seriously.’

There is some uncertainty and debate over Chelsea’s current goalkeeping situation, with Robert Sanchez guilty of making a number of costly mistakes across a difficult campaign in west London.

To add to Enzo Maresca’s headache, Filip Jorgensen – who joined Chelsea from Villarreal last summer – has been unconvincing while deputising for Sanchez between the sticks.

Djordje Petrovic has spent the season on loan with Todd Boehly-owned Strasbourg, and there have been calls for Maresca to give the Serbian a shot in the first-team next season.

But just last week, Petrovic suggested he would be open to continuing his spell with the Ligue 1 outfit in the summer.

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