Genk forward Tolu Arokodare has opened up on new Chelsea signing Mike Penders and revealed it wasn’t a surprise when the Blues made a move for the goalkeeper.
It feels like Chelsea have signed a lot of goalkeepers over the past few windows whether for the first team or with an eye on the future.
The club signed both Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic last summer, with Filip Jorgensen arriving from Villarreal this summer, whilst 19-year-old Penders has also been added to the pool.
Penders’ move to Chelsea not a surprise
Many were surprised when it was announced that Chelsea had signed yet another goalkeeper with the club shelling out €20m on Penders.
The 19-year-old, who has been dubbed the next Thibaut Courtois has been loaned back to Genk for this season and will join up with his new Chelsea team-mates next summer.
Penders has been capped seven times for Belgium’s under-19 side, but has made just two appearances for Genk in total, both of which came this season.
Understandably not many Chelsea fans know an awful lot about Penders, with it likely many wouldn’t have heard of him before the club signed him.
However, according to Genk team-mate Arokodare, Chelsea have a lot to look forward to and Penders has a lot of quality.
“He is a good person, a good professional and he is very hardworking, we should expect the best from him.” he told Tribal Football.
“I must admit that it is difficult to score against him in training and we do our best to help one another improve.
“We should expect nothing but the best from him and talking about our reaction when Chelsea signed him.
“Well, we were not really surprised because we know the qualities he possesses.”
Whether Penders ends up playing for Chelsea’s first team or just becomes another player that gets loaned out for a few seasons and then sold for a profit remains to be seen, but he’s clearly been signed for a reason.
