Out of the blue, Chelsea have reportedly reached an agreement to sign young goalkeeper Mike Penders from Belgian side Genk.

Chelsea will pay around €20m for the 19-year-old goalkeeper, who will spend the 2024-25 season at Genk before moving to London in 2025.

The signing comes as a surprise after Chelsea have already signed Filip Jorgensen this summer.

Chelsea have an avalanche of goalkeepers like Robert Sanchez, Djordje Petrovic, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Gabriel Slolina and Marcus Bettinelli, who are all still at the club.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea pushed strongly to sign Mike Penders due to the largely positive scouting reports on the teenager.

Scouting reports claim that Penders has the potential to be the next Thibaut Courtois, which made Chelsea push for the Belgian.

Penders has only made two appearances for Genk’s senior team in his career, but has kept five clean sheets in 34 appearances for their youth side.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Slonina has joined League One side Barnsley on loan for the 2024-25 season.

The 20-year-old spent last season at Belgian side Eupen where he conceded 63 goals in 33 games.

You’d recall that Slonina joined Chelsea two years ago for a fee of around €9m. He is yet to play a senior game for Chelsea.