On Monday, Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri reported Chelsea have held concrete talks with KRC Genk goalkeeper Mike Penders.
He also stated the Jupiler Pro League side are open to negotiating a deal with the Blues, who see the 18-year-old as the next Thibaut Courtois.
Tavolieri made no mention of the fee needed for Chelsea to sign him, and this is provided by Tuesday’s edition of Het Belang van Limburg.
The stopper made his first team debut for Genk in their goalless draw against Standard Liège on Sunday. His development and displays for their youth teams haven’t gone unnoticed.
In April 2022, RB Leipzig agreed a €10m deal with Genk for Maarten Vandevoordt to join them this summer. HBVL state the Belgian club are expecting to earn more than €10m for Penders
Over at Het Laatste Nieuws, they report Chelsea ‘go all out’ to sign the young stopper. It’s claimed they are negotiating with his club, who should be able to earn ‘significantly more than €10m’ from his sale.
If the deal goes through, the Premier League side intend to let Penders return to Genk on a season-long loan deal.
