Mike Penders

Mike Penders
Personal information
Full name Mike Louis Penders[1]
Date of birth (2005-07-31) 31 July 2005
Place of birth Maasmechelen, Belgium
Height 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)[2]
Position Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 39
Youth career
2010–2016 Boorsem Sport
2016–2018 Bregel Sport
2018–2022 Genk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2024 Jong Genk 39 (0)
2024–2025 Genk 21 (0)
2025– Chelsea 0 (0)
2025–2026 → Strasbourg (loan) 33 (0)
International career‡
2021 Belgium U17 2 (0)
2022–2023 Belgium U18 2 (0)
2023–2024 Belgium U19 7 (0)
2025– Belgium U21 4 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:02, 17 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 13:24, 30 March 2026 (UTC)

Mike Louis Penders (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑjk ˈpɛndərs]; born 31 July 2005) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Chelsea.

Club career

Genk

Penders is a youth product of Boorsem Sport and Bregel Sport, before moving to the academy of Genk in 2018.[3]

On 30 April 2021, he signed his first contract with Genk.[4] On 25 May 2022, he extended his contract until 2025.[5]

In the 2022–23 season, he was promoted to their reserve team Jong Genk.[2] He made his debut in a 4–1 victory against Lierse.[6][7]

On 23 August 2023, he again extended his contract until 2028.[8] He was made captain of Jong Genk in the 2023–24 season[7]

Following the departure of Maarten Vandevoordt and injury to Hendrik Van Crombrugge, Penders made his senior debut with the Genk first team in a 0–0 Belgian Pro League tie with Standard Liège on 28 July 2024.[9] At 18 years and 363 days, he was the third youngest goalkeeper to debut in the history of the league.[10]

In January 2025, Genk coach Thorsten Fink announced that Penders would be the team's starting goalkeeper for the remainder of the 2024–25 season.[11] He ended the season having played 21 league matches, including all ten matches in the Championship play-offs.[12]

Chelsea

On 27 August 2024, it was announced that Penders would join Premier League club Chelsea in the summer of 2025.[7][13]

In June 2025, Penders was named in Chelsea's squad for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.[14] He was an unused substitute in the final on 13 July 2025.[15]

Loan to Strasbourg

On 28 July 2025, Penders joined Ligue 1 club Strasbourg on a season-long loan deal.[16]

He made his debut for Strasbourg in their opening Ligue 1 fixture on 17 August, keeping a clean sheet against Metz.[17] He was ever present in Strasbourg's runs to the semi-finals of both the Coupe de France[18] and UEFA Conference League.[19]

Return to Chelsea

On 27 August 2026, Penders made his debut for Chelsea in the second round of the EFL Cup, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory over Luton Town.[20]

International career

Penders is a youth international for Belgium, having represented the nation at under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 level.

In 2023, he was called up to the Belgium U19s where he acted as captain during the 2024 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification campaign.[21]

In 2025, Penders played four matches during qualification for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[22]

In August 2025, he received his first call up to the senior Belgium national football team.[23] On 18 November, he was an unused substitute in a 7–0 win over Liechtenstein in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.[24]

On 15 May 2026, he was named in Belgium's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[25]

Career statistics

As of match played 27 August 2026[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Jong Genk 2021–22 Challenger Pro League 00————00
2022–23 Challenger Pro League 90————90
2023–24 Challenger Pro League 250————250
2024–25 Challenger Pro League 50————50
Total 390————390
Genk 2024–25 Belgian Pro League 21040———250
Chelsea 2024–25 Premier League ————0000
2026–27 Premier League 000010——10
Total 000010000010
Strasbourg (loan) 2025–26 Ligue 1 33050—12[c]0—500
Career total 9309010120001150

Honours

Chelsea

References

  1. ↑ "Squad List: FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Chelsea FC (ENG)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 June 2025. p. 12. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Wie is Mike Penders, de 18-jarige talentvolle doelman van KRC Genk die titularis is in 1B?". Voetbalflitsen.be - het leukste en opvallendste voetbalnieuws!. 22 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Mike Penders verlengt contract tot 2028". KRC Genk (in Flemish). 26 August 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "KRC Genk legt drie jonge talenten vast tot 2024". HBVL (in Flemish). 30 April 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  5. ↑ "KRC Genk verlengt contract van jonge doelman Mike Penders (16)". HBVL (in Flemish). 25 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  6. ↑ "Met lef én een killer instinct: Jong Genk wint eerste profmatch met 4-1 van Lierse Kempenzonen". HBVL (in Flemish). 14 August 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "Official: Mike Penders makes top transfer to Chelsea FC". 27 August 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  8. ↑ "KRC Genk verlengt contract van doelman Mike Penders tot 2028 (Jupiler Pro League) | Het Belang van Limburg". 27 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Penders (18) onder de lat bij Genk: Courtois is hier eveneens jong begonnen". VoetbalPrimeur.be (in Flemish). 26 July 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  10. ↑ Geukens, Marnik (29 July 2024). "Chelsea zet zijn zinnen op 18-jarige Belgische doelman Mike Penders (KRC Genk)". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "Fink hakt knoop door: doelman Mike Penders krijgt ook in competitie de voorkeur op Van Crombrugge". HBVL (in Flemish). 17 January 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Mike Penders Career Stats - Belgian Pro League". ESPN. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Mike Penders to join Chelsea". Chelsea F.C. 27 July 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Full squad list of all teams and players". Al Jazeera. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "Chelsea 3-0 PSG". ESPN. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "Mike Penders joins Strasbourg on loan". www.chelseafc.com. 28 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  17. ↑ "RC Strasbourg Kicks Off Ligue 1 With a Win Against FC Metz Thanks to a Stunning Goal From Joaquín Panichelli". beIN Sports. 17 August 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Strasbourg 0-2 Nice". Ouest France. 22 April 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "Mike Penders n'a pas suffi : Strasbourg éliminé aux portes de la finale de Conference League par le Rayo Vallecano". RTBF (in French). 7 May 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Alonso confirms what most suspected about Penders' games this season". Talk Chelsea. 28 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Mike Penders en Josue Kongolo (KRC Genk) naar eliteronde EK 2024 | Het Belang van Limburg". 21 November 2023.
  22. ↑ "Mike Penders". UEFA. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "Penders, Seys en Vanhoutte zijn er voor het eerst bij, terwijl Batshuayi zijn rentree viert bij de Rode Duivels: dit is de 25-koppige selectie van Rudi Garcia". Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 29 August 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  24. ↑ "Belgium 7-0 Liechtenstein". The Guardian. 18 November 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/articles/belgium-squad-garcia-lukaku-named". FIFA. 15 May 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  26. ↑ Mike Penders at Soccerway
  27. ↑ Begley, Emlyn (13 July 2025). "Chelsea 3–0 PSG". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
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