Chelsea's pre-season preparations have begun, and team reporter Kinsella wrote about Penders, who has returned to Chelsea from Strasbourg. He stated that this goalkeeper, very similar to Courtois, will be a strong contender for Chelsea's number one spot.
Below is the original report
Chelsea's newest goalkeeping star, Mike Penders, comes from the same development system as legendary goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Like Courtois, Chelsea signed Penders when he was a teenage player from Belgian top-flight club Gent.
In 2023, Chelsea reached a transfer agreement with then 19-year-old Penders, who officially joined the following summer and was then loaned to Strasbourg for a season.
At the time, Gent's goalkeeping coach, Gilbert Roox, told reporters that Chelsea paying £17 million for Penders "was incredible to them," as Penders had not even played for Gent's first team then.
However, Roox also praised Chelsea's assessment of Penders' youth performance, a decision influenced by Ben Roberts, Chelsea's head of goalkeeping.
He added: "When Chelsea's scouts were convinced of his potential, he was still only playing for Gent's youth team in the Belgian Second Division."
"This is very similar to Courtois' situation. Courtois only played one season in the first team, helping the team win the championship when he was just 18 years old.
Perhaps Chelsea's video scouts discovered a player whose future value could be much higher."
In fact, this summer, Penders trained alongside Courtois, the long-serving number one goalkeeper for the Belgian national team, during international matches.
Sources close to Courtois told reporters that the goalkeeper, who has earned 115 caps for Belgium, was deeply impressed by his young successor, both in terms of playing ability and personal qualities.
Will Penders become Chelsea's first choice?
Currently, Chelsea's plan is still for Robert Sanchez to continue as the team's first-choice goalkeeper. However, he will face strong competition from Penders.
A similar situation occurred when Jørgensen challenged the Spanish international. Although Jørgensen spent some time in the first team and received starting opportunities, he ultimately failed to replace Sanchez as a permanent starter and is now seeking to leave.
Penders was actually brought in to fill Jørgensen's position. At the same time, Chelsea is also looking for a third-choice goalkeeper either from within the academy or in the transfer market.
Gabriel Slonina, who plays for the U.S. national team, is currently on loan at partner club Strasbourg.
It was during his loan spell at Strasbourg that Penders proved himself.
His departure also left a position to be filled at the French club, which shares the same American owner as Chelsea.
During his final season at Gent, Penders made 26 appearances before joining Chelsea.
He already knew then that he would be joining Chelsea in the future. After arriving at Chelsea, he was part of the squad for the Club World Cup as an unused substitute, and then joined Strasbourg on loan in Ligue 1.
There, he participated in almost every match throughout the season. That season, Strasbourg played a total of 52 games, including both the Coupe de France and the Europa Conference League, reaching the semi-finals in both competitions.
It was under former Strasbourg coach Liam Rosenior that Penders truly began to showcase his abilities. Rosenior adopted a very attacking tactical system before later joining Chelsea.
Statistics show that among goalkeepers in Europe's top five leagues, no one has a more advanced average position than Penders. This data highlights his important role in building attacks from the back for Strasbourg and also shows that he often leaves his penalty area to participate in play.
This style of play can create impressive football, but sometimes it also leads to notable errors.
"He has the potential to reach the same level as Thibaut"
Surprisingly, Penders has now become a goalkeeper with excellent technical ability. Because in the past, this was once his weakness.
When Gent first discovered Penders from the Saint-Jans-Berchmans College and amateur club Bregel Sport, his biggest shortcoming was his ball control.
Roox, who recently left Gent, said: "A teacher recommended him to me. When I saw him, I thought he had very good attributes, played well, and had a very good mentality. But from a technical point of view, he still needed a lot of work."
"At the time, because he was so tall, his footwork was very poor. But at 13, he still passed the trials for our U14 team."
Roox stated that due to Penders' "incredible mentality" and his characteristic of "not feeling pressure," "I have never seen a player improve so rapidly between the ages of 13 and 18."
He believes that these qualities still exist in Penders today. He said: "Initially, he encountered many difficulties, but he worked very hard. We arranged at least 20 minutes of footwork training for every goalkeeper session. His ability to read the game is excellent. This is very important because playing out from the back relies not just on technique, but more on making correct decisions – understanding space, pressure, and timing."
Nearly 20 years ago, when helping develop the 1.99-meter tall Courtois, Roox collaborated with another Gent goalkeeping coach, Guy Maertens.
Today, he believes that Penders, who is also 1.99 meters tall, shares similarities with the great goalkeeper who now plays for Real Madrid and the Belgian national team.
Roox explained: "Guy and I share the same philosophy. We believe that football is changing, and goalkeepers must be proficient with both feet. We implemented this philosophy throughout the youth academy, although initially some coaches resisted it."
"Our philosophy was partly influenced by Ajax and Frans Hoek, the goalkeeping coach during Johan Cruyff's era. He was a visionary who later also worked at Barcelona and with the Dutch national team."
"We were also one of the first teams to start recording goalkeeper training sessions. At that time, we used video tapes and simple video editing software. We wanted to expose young goalkeepers to the first-team environment early, starting at age 16."
"We developed Courtois and Penders, as well as: Köhn-Casteels; Martin Vandevoordt, who plays for RB Leipzig; Chiaba Bruggemans; and Nordin Jackers, who now plays for Club Brugge."
Roox believes that Penders' calm and composed personality stems from a stable family environment and upbringing. He grew up in Maasmechelen, a small village near Gent.
Roox said: "We have developed many excellent goalkeepers, but Mike is the one who has the potential to reach the same heights as Thibaut Courtois. His calmness is the most valuable quality for a goalkeeper."
AF's PC site is now live! Browse full news, comments, match details and stats on your computer. Visit: www.allfootballapp.com