Chelsea are no longer willing to consider the departure of winger Noni Madueke after being impressed by the 22-year-old’s development off the pitch. 90 minutes understands.
Two incidents in which Madueke argued with teammates over penalty shootouts against Everton last season and during pre-season had raised doubts about the winger’s maturity and attitude, leading to some within the Chelsea club welcoming offers for his services earlier this summer.
Newcastle United made their interest clear but refused to offer Chelsea the chance to make a profit on Madueke, instead wanting to pay around £30 million.
Since then, however, sources have confirmed 90 minutes that club officials were thoroughly impressed with Madueke’s personal development and recognised that the 22-year-old was up to the challenge under new head coach Enzo Maresca. Chelsea are now no longer willing to entertain transfer offers and Madueke is expected to stay at Stamford Bridge beyond this summer.
Following the 6-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, in which Madueke scored a hat-trick, Maresca declined to address the winger’s unintentional criticism of the city of Wolverhampton on social media, instead highlighting Madueke’s work ethic and selflessness during the game as evidence of his positive development.
“I can judge Noni’s performance and it was fantastic, not only in the second half but also in the first half,” said Maresca.
“Since day one I’ve said he’s the kind of winger I really like, he works really hard with us. The best thing was the way he defended. After 90 minutes, when Wolves started a counterattack, he ran back.
“He delivers the mentality I demand from the players.”
Madueke, who also scored in the Conference League qualifier against Servette, has now scored four goals in his first two games this season, having netted eight times in 34 appearances last year.
Former Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino had doubts about Madueke’s ability to score goals consistently, but Maresca apparently thinks he is a good option. The fact that Chelsea have been unable to sign Michael Olise and both Pedro Neto and Joao Felix are doing well on the left, coupled with Madueke’s strong form, should open up more opportunities for the England Under-21 international this season.
