Chelsea's €35m signing has FINALLY arrived

Cameron Smith

• 3 May 2024 06:45 BST
• 4 min read

16 months after he joined, Noni Madueke may have finally arrived at Chelsea.

The 22-year-old was purchased for €35 million from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023 after an impressive, albeit injury-hit, time in the Eredivisie.

He had shone during his spell at PSV - lighting up the Dutch top flight with his speed and trickery - and Chelsea opted to sign the England U21 international as part of their youth revolution under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

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However, up until now, Madueke hasn’t really delivered at Stamford Bridge.

His performances have been inconsistent, he has often frustrated fans with his lack of end product and he hasn’t been a regular in the starting XI.

However, Chelsea’s recent injury crisis has helped Madueke start six consecutive matches in all competitions and he has certainly found his feet during that time.

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Noni Madueke’s impressive form

Two goals and one assist in six games isn’t a particularly noteworthy tally, but Madueke’s performances have certainly improved over the past few weeks - if you ignore Chelsea’s awful 5-0 defeat to Arsenal.

He scored a fantastic goal away at Sheffield United, before bagging a goal and an assist during the Blues’ comeback 2-2 against Aston Villa. At Villa Park, Madueke ran Lucas Digne ragged, completing six dribbles as he frequently bypassed the French defender with his blistering acceleration.

It was the same story against Emerson Royal on Thursday night. Madueke racked up five completed dribbles versus Ange Postecoglou’s side, while he also won the free-kick that led to Chelsea’s opening goal.

His ability to drive down the line and burst inside the penalty area is remarkable for a left-footed player deployed on the right, and it was seen on multiple occasions against Tottenham.

Madueke has an extremely quick turn of pace, and Emerson and Digne have both failed to deal with the Englishman when faced one-vs-one over the past week.

Furthermore, the England U21 international’s defensive work-rate has been vastly improved over the past two games. In fact, Chelsea’s entire forward line worked hard defensively during the win over Tottenham, but Madueke notably performed his role extremely well in the second-half.

In total, the 22-year-old won 12 duels against Villa and 11 against Tottenham; his previous best this season was 10 duel wins against Luton Town back in December.

Pochettino will have a selection headache on his hands if he is ever able to have a fully fit squad at Stamford Bridge, but Madueke has proven that he is a supremely talented player and must be given a chance to develop in the first-team.

He isn’t an elite level winger yet, and the penalty debacle against Everton was embarrassing, however he has shown some extremely promising signs over the past week.