BREAKING: Chelsea confirm seventh summer transfer departure as £25m route taken

Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders has moved to Strasbourg on a season-long loan deal.

The teenager, who moved from Genk this summer, has joined the Blues' sister club on a loan deal for the upcoming 2025/26 season. The 19-year-old goalkeeper is someone the club rate very highly but he is viewed as a prospect for the future at the moment, with Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen the shot-stoppers at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea will be keeping a close eye on Penders, who has taken the same route as fellow goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic. The Serbian massively impressed while on loan with Strasbourg last season - earning a place in the best Ligue 1 XI - and Chelsea decided to cash in on him this summer, with Bournemouth paying £25million for his services.

While Chelsea are not planning to do the same with Penders, who they believe could be the club's No.1 in years to come, they will be hoping for similar success. The Blues are also expected to loan Mamadou Sarr and Kendry Paez to Strasbourg, who have already signed Mathis Amougou on a permanent deal.

The French club, managed by Liam Rosenior, are also in talks over signing Ishé Samuels-Smith on a permanent contract, football.london understands. The 19-year-old defender's representatives have been in eastern France over the past couple of weeks negotiating personal terms with the BlueCo-owned club.

No breakthrough has been made just yet, but Samuels-Smith has made it clear he wants to move to the Ligue 1 outfit on a permanent basis. Chelsea want £8million - double the fee they paid for him in 2023 when he signed from Everton - but talks over the price will commence once, or if, personal terms are agreed.

Samuels-Smith is currently on standby at his family home in Manchester and is ready to fly to France to finalise a deal once he is given the green light. Negotiations have been described by sources as 'slow' but there remains a confidence a deal can be struck eventually.

This is a developing news story that will be updated with relevant information as we get it. More to follow...

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