Anyone who has been following the Premier League even a little bit over the last few years will be aware that Chelsea have been, shall we say, rather active in the transfer market. Back in 2003, Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea and the club became synonymous with heavy spending on new players and having an itchy trigger finger in terms of sacking managers.
Since Todd Boehly’s consortium bought the Blues in May 2022, both of those things have been ramped up to the nth degree. Many would have not thought that possible, but at the time of writing (oh, it can all change so quickly), Enzo Maresca is the sixth manager to work under Boehly and co! And transfer spending has probably increased even more dramatically.
Eight Goalkeepers on the Books
The club have brought in so many new players at every opportunity and in the summer window of 2024 they are already in double figures. Their squad size has reached a bloated 43 players and despite major concerns about their adherence to ‘Profit & Sustainability’ rules they have spent almost £200m this summer. That takes the spending under Boehly and his Clearlake Capital group to over £1.2bn – a truly crazy figure.
Just as crazy as all these stats, is the fact that the cub now reportedly have eight goalkeepers! Most teams tend to have a clear number one, plus a strong back-up stopper. Beyond that they typically have a third-choice pick, although some clubs rely on youth beyond their number two. Yet the Blues will soon have eight goalkeepers (if you believe some reports), with the addition of Belgian stopper Mike Penders from Genk close to a done deal.
Should the Penders signing be confirmed and the Belgian take to the field this season we would not be overly surprised to hear such a chant ring out from the stands, given the ironic wit English crowds so often produce. Many are claiming that Penders is set to become Chelsea’s eighth first-team goalkeeper, with a fee of £17m agreed on the 9th of August.
It is believed that Chelsea will loan him straight back to Genk and he will stay in Belgian football for the season which, given he is just 19, seems a sensible move. Even without the 6ft 7in goalie, who has played seven times for Belgium’s Under 19 side, the Blues will still have an embarrassing array of options in goal.
Chelsea’s Magnificent Seven
Leaving aside Penders, the full list of Chelsea goalkeepers is:
- Robert Sánchez
- Filip Jorgensen
- Marcus Bettinelli
- Djordje Petrovic
- Lucas Bergstrom
- Kepa Arrizabalaga
- Eddie Beach
Chelsea’s official site only, sorry, “only” lists six, with Beach not included. This is why claiming Chelsea have eight goalies is definitely ide of the mark. The young Welsh stopper moved to Crawley Town on loan in August and is actually one of four goalkeepers the club have out on loan. The other three are Teddy Sharman-Lowe, Ted Curd, and Gaga Slonina and all three are youngsters, although the club did pay a significant fee of around £8m for Slonina, an American they recently loaned out to Barnsley.
For the sake of clarity, as things stand right now, Chelsea have a mere six goalkeepers to their name. But they also have four youngsters out on loan, plus three in their Under 18 squad, two in their U21 group, and Penders set to be signed and loaned back to his former club Genk. Are you keeping up?!
First Choice Goalie Is Sánchez
Whilst many media outlets have been reporting that Chelsea have eight goalies, six is a more accurate figure in terms of their first team squad. However, of those, it is Robert Sánchez who is the literal and metaphorical No. 1.
Sánchez will wear the number one on his back for the 2024/25 season and was signed from Brighton in August 2023. The Blues paid £25m (including add-ons) for the Spanish international (he has two caps) and he was initially given the number 31 shirt last season, taking the number one when Kepa moved to Real Madrid on loan.
He established himself as the club’s main stopper during the first half of the season but then a knee injury and other physical issues prevented him from playing beyond December 2023. In all, he made 21 appearances for Chelsea last term but will hope to play far more after a decent pre-season.
Petrovic Up for the Battle
This is a Djordje Petrovic appreciation post. pic.twitter.com/fwqj9sinOv
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 19, 2023
In Sánchez’s absence last term the Blues turned to Petrovic, a Serbian international who will turn 25 on the 8th of October, 2024. Petrovic was signed by Chelsea from New England Revolution for around £13m in the summer of 2023 and acquitted himself well. He will hope to force his way into contention this term, certainly in some of the lesser competitions, but clearly is up against it, with so many other keepers hoping to do the same.
Jörgensen May Be the Second Choice
Jorgensen is Chelsea. 🔵🙌 pic.twitter.com/CyPjEkOhrN
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 30, 2024
Whilst Petrovic played 31 times for Chelsea last term, keeping seven clean sheets, it may be that Jörgensen is ahead of him in the pecking order, behind Sánchez. Signed from Villarreal this summer for a fee of around £20m, he has represented both Sweden and Denmark in youth internationals but appears to be aiming for the Danish senior team now.
Jörgensen is not 23 until April 2025 and looks an excellent keeper. Signed on a seven-year deal he has played in pre-season and will hope to get his chance at some point this term.
Bergstrom Also in the Mix
Chelsea really are collecting young, talented players and whilst most question what their plan in the transfer market is, or whether they even have one, there is no doubt they are recruiting lots of very promising young players. Bergstrom is 21 and turns 22 in September 2024, and was signed from Finnish side, TPS, back in 2018. He has been loaned out a few times already by the Blues but was named on the bench for a few games in 2023/24.
Don’t Forget Bettinelli
Maresca will also have Bettinelli at his disposal, with the experienced English goalkeeper fitting the more typical profile of a third-choice goalie. He is 32, has played over 100 times for Fulham and is more likely to be content to sit in the wings and be ready if and when needed. It is possible he may want to leave and make the most of the later years of his career but with so many young goalies on their books, the club may well value his experience.
One man they seem less likely to keep is Kepa, back after a loan spell with Real Madrid. In 2018, Chelsea paid a massive £72m for the Spaniard but he never settled and, despite boasting 17 caps for Spain, has never really looked the part. Chelsea will hope to offload him if they can, with Saudi a possible destination. If they loan one, or maybe even two of their other keepers, that could leave them with a more manageable roster of four first-team keepers.