Mike Penders

Not to be confused with Mike Pender.

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
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 (born 31 July 2005) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Chelsea and the Belgium national team.

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 an ever present in Strasbourg's runs to the semi-finals of both the Coupe de France[18] and UEFA Conference League.[19]

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.[20]

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

In August 2025, he received his first call up to the senior Belgium national football team.[22] On 18 November, he was an unused substitute in a 7–0 win over Liechtenstein in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.[23]

On 15 May 2026, he was named in Belgium's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[24]

Career statistics

As of match played 17 May 2026[25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jong Genk 2021–22 Challenger Pro League 0 0 — — — — 0 0
2022–23 Challenger Pro League 9 0 — — — — 9 0
2023–24 Challenger Pro League 25 0 — — — — 25 0
2024–25 Challenger Pro League 5 0 — — — — 5 0
Total 39 0 — — — — 39 0
Genk 2024–25 Belgian Pro League 21 0 4 0 — — — 25 0
Chelsea 2024–25 Premier League — — — — 0 0 0 0
Strasbourg (loan) 2025–26 Ligue 1 33 0 5 0 — 12[b] 0 — 50 0
Career total 93 0 9 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 114 0

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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c "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. ^ "Mike Penders en Josue Kongolo (KRC Genk) naar eliteronde EK 2024 | Het Belang van Limburg". 21 November 2023.
  21. ^ "Mike Penders". UEFA. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ "Belgium 7-0 Liechtenstein". The Guardian. 18 November 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  24. ^ "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)
  25. ^ Mike Penders at Soccerway
  26. ^ Begley, Emlyn (13 July 2025). "Chelsea 3–0 PSG". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
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