Another day, another ludicrous Chelsea transfer move - this £17m deal could be the most bizarre yet

At this point, I am at a loss for words - which is a problem when I have to write 500 or so of them in this here article. Chelsea are looking to sign another professional footballer. No great shocks there. The astonishment, then, does not come from that common occurrence, but rather that Todd Boehly and his minions are looking to add yet another goalkeeper to their ranks.

At the time of writing, Chelsea have seven goalkeepers in their first team squad; Robert Sánchez, Képa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, Đorđe Petrović, Gabriel Slonina, Lucas Bergström, and Filip Jörgensen, with the last of that septet having only arrived at Stamford Bridge earlier this week. And yet, despite their embarrassment of gloved assets, the Blues are said to be in the market for one more.

According to Sacha Tavolieri, Chelsea are close to reaching an agreement worth somewhere in the region of £16.9 million with Belgian outfit Genk to lure teenage stopper Mike Penders to the Premier League this summer. Standing at a dizzying 6’7” tall, the starlet is a Belgian youth international, but has made just one senior appearance for his current club, and would represent a significant outlay for such an inexperienced talent.

Nevertheless, the Blues look to be pushing ahead in their pursuit, and once again questions will be asked as to whether or not there is any rhyme or reason to the recruitment strategy in West London. Of course, it is worth pointing out that while Chelsea do already have seven goalkeepers, that tally is perhaps something of a misnomer. Arrizabalaga spent last season out on loan at Real Madrid, Petrović has been touted for an exit in the coming weeks, doubts linger over Sánchez, Bettinelli has yet to make a first team appearance for the Blues, Slonina was shipped out to the Belgian top flight last term, and Bergström frittered away the second half of the campaign in Sweden.

It is for this gluttony of reasons that many believe Jörgensen has been signed as an immediate number one for Enzo Maresca’s side heading into the new season. But that still doesn’t really reveal much as to where Penders slots into Chelsea’s ramshackle pecking order. His price tag would suggest that he is being parachuted in for some kind of senior role, but then his stark lack of first team minutes would hint towards a signing with one eye on the future. And if he is an investment, then who will be entrusted with deputising for Jörgensen? Sánchez feels like the most obvious shout, but again, will he be content with a diminished role after having ostensibly arrived at Stamford Bridge as the main man?

Only time will tell, but once more, as is so often the case in West London, we find ourselves on the cusp of a deal that causes all kinds of headaches, and soothes frighteningly few of them. Perhaps Penders will prove to be a wonderful acquisition for Chelsea, and perhaps he will not. It might be quite some time before we know which it is for sure.