Mike Penders is set to make his first start in the Premier League this weekend when Chelsea take on Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.

Penders replaced Emiliano Martinez in last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Everton after the Argentine fractured his jaw. Martinez is now set to be out of action until December in a blow for the Blues.

It is unfortunate for Martinez, who was starting to look good in a Chelsea shirt, but it has presented Penders with a golden opportunity. And if the young Belgian does well over the next few weeks, there is no reason why he cannot retain his spot in the team.

With Martinez likely out for the next six league games, how do you feel about Mike Penders as Chelsea's No.1?

A broken jaw is expected to keep Martinez out for 45-60 days…

The early signs suggest Penders is ready to be Chelsea’s No.1. Penders was confident against Everton as he came out to collect crosses, while the former Genk man made some fantastic saves versus Leeds United in the Carabao Cup despite conceding three goals.

The biggest indication that Penders is ready, though, are his stats from his loan at Strasbourg. They are not too dissimilar to Martinez’s numbers from last season.

For example, Penders made 3.27 saves per 90 minutes, according to FotMob, which was actually more than what Martinez made (3.02.). However, Martinez did have a marginally higher save percentage — 70.9% to Penders’ 69.7%. In terms of shot-stopping, they were very close. It is not a surprise Penders is attracting interest from other Premier League clubs.

At 6’7″, Penders is taller than 6’5″ Martinez, but the latter made more high claims, averaging 1.52 to the former’s 0.82. That is a slight worry, but Penders looked very reassured when he came to claim crosses in the Everton game.

For goals prevented, Martinez topped Penders again, preventing 0.11 per 90 minutes, while his teammate prevented 0.09. Distribution is where things really get interesting.

In the 2025/26 campaign, Penders made more successful passes per 90 minutes and had a higher pass success rate than Martinez. Penders had an average of 36.52 and a success rate of 86.1%, while Martinez recorded 28.35 and 73.7%.

Good distribution from goal is crucial for a team like Chelsea who want to build up from the back. Penders has that in his game and looks even better than Martinez in that area. His long ball accuracy (45.1%) was also better than Martinez’s (36%).

Jason Cundy has some concerns about Penders, and critics will question the strength of Ligue 1. But the French league is also known to be a physical division like the Premier League. There is little stopping Penders from adapting to English football.

Penders is only 21, making him 13 years Martinez’s junior, but he still practically matched him in plenty of metrics last season. In some, he even outperformed the World Cup winner.

When you consider all of that, it may not be long until Penders becomes Chelsea’s No.1. Perform well in Martinez’s absence, and he could end up taking his teammate’s place permanently.