Chelsea close to agreeing ninth summer signing as talks for record deal continue

Chelsea have just signed Filip Jörgensen from Villarreal, but that is not stopping them from making a record £18million bid for Genk goalkeeper Mike Penders, according to reports in Belgium.

Just like last summer when 13 new players walked through the door, Penders will be the ninth summer signing if they agree on the deal, adding to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City, Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal, Omari Kellyman from Aston Villa, Renato Veiga, Caleb Wiley from Atlanta, Marc Guiu from FC Barcelona, Tosin Adarabioyo from Fulham, and Estêvão Willian from Palmeiras.

That is just two players short of a full starting eleven, even though some of them are likely to go out on loan while the highly-rated Estêvão doesn't arrive at Stamford Bridge until next summer when he turns 18.

HLN in Belgium is reporting that Chelsea have agreed to pay £18million for the Genk goalkeeper, who kept a clean sheet for his side in the first game of the Belgian Jupiler League over the weekend, but they will loan him back to the club for the remainder of the season to continue his development.

The report further states that the deal will be a record for a goalkeeper in Belgian history, two million more than Bart Verbruggen, who moved from Anderlecht to Brighton last summer for £16 million.

When all is said and done, he is expected to sign a long-term deal at Stamford Bridge, with the club hoping that he follows in the footsteps of Petr Cech. LondonWorld has been told Chelsea's owners have taken all the criticism of their business model on board, but they’re quite determined to crack on and back their style, believing their investment will soon begin to yield the desired results.

Two things they have sought to do since they bought the club in May 2022 is to drastically reduce the age of the squad by selling most of the experienced players and reduce the wage bill. They have been successful at doing both; however, what has eluded them so far has been winning trophies.