Young Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders has been awarded the Premier League’s October Save of  The Month award for his incredible stop against Manchester United.

Penders made his Premier League debut for Chelsea in the 2-0 win over Everton on October 17, and less than a month later, he has already won his first award in the competition.

The 21-year-old filled in as Chelsea’s starting goalkeeper following Emiliano Martinez’s jaw injury against Everton, and he has since earned four starts for Chelsea, including three in the Premier League.

His highlight is, of course, the clean sheet he recorded in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Manchester United on October 31. While Manchester United eventually went down to 10 men, Penders still had to make three important saves to keep the visitors scoreless, including an outstanding fingertip stop to deny Bryan Mbeumo a screamer in stoppage time.

His celebration after tipping the ball to deflect Mbeumo’s strike onto the bar says it all.

“The ball came so quickly, I didn’t even see it properly,” the Belgium international said about his save after the game at the time.

“It was just instinct, pure instinct, a reaction. I felt a good touch on my fingertips and, after that moment, I screamed all th positive emotions out. I had to, I was so happy with that moment.”

This was Chelsea’s only second clean sheet in the Premier League this season, and, officially, Penders’ first in the competition, since the only came on as a substitute against Everton.

Penders is currently on international duty with Belgium, alongside Blues teammate Romeo Lavia.

After a 2-1 win over Turkiye on Thursday, the pair will only have to prepare for the final Nations League group match against Italy before returning to Chelsea. Penders unfortunately only stayed on the bench against Turkiye, with Belgium boss Mark van Bommel sticking with Senne Lammens, despite his rough patch with Manchester United.

It is unclear whether Penders will get to play in the decisive game against Italy on Sunday, November 15, with a ticket to the Nations League quarter-finals on at stake.

Even when he eventually returns to Chelsea, Penders may also no longer keep his starting goalkeeper role for the Premier League home fixture against Leeds United on November 17. 

Martinez returned to Chelsea training last week, and despite his absence in the Sunderland defeat, he is expected to be in contention to start against Leeds.

That said, the veteran goalkeeper, who is currently on international duty with Argentina alongside Valentin Barco and Aaron Anselmino, was on the bench in their 2-1 defeat to Uruguay on Friday. This suggests that Martinez may not be prepared to start despite having a custom-fitted mask to aid his return.