Why Chelsea selling Noni Madueke to Arsenal would be a huge mistake for Blues

You don’t have to look far to understand Chelsea’s Squad-building planning in the past three years. Todd Boehly has explained the many occasions, also in February of this year.

“You identify what you think are younger players who come together,” he said, “a portfolio of players who will be consistent and reliable and have the potential to be together for a very long time.”

What you also think of the plan in principle and implementation, it is difficult to see how a club is planning to set up a young core and to grow it even consider the prospect to lose Noni Madueke. However, that is exactly what Chelsea does, because the blues are in conversation with Arsenal About the sale of the English international, according to CBS sports sources. The move would be for nearly $ 70 million, almost twice the reimbursement they paid for him when he arrived from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023.

Madueke is supposed to have agreed personal conditions with Arsenal, but the club as a club dialogue remains in the earliest phases. In other words, there is still time for Chelsea to change what their course seems to be about this specific transfer. Madueke’s sale would be contrary to a team building process that has started to show success in the last 18 months, the most recent with the team that continues to the final of the Club World Cup.

Selling him to Arsenal would be a serious mistake.

Madueke in the elevator

Towards the end of the 2024-25 season, it was clear that Madueke was about to become a seriously impressive winger. The raw output in itself would not set scouting departments on fire, 11 goals and five assists in 46 performances in all competitions, but you would not have to dig much under the surface to find a player who makes the leap. It was something of a Down Finish season of Madueke, who turned 9.64 non-penalty goals into the top flight into seven actual goals. After a hat trick against wolves early in the season, the output did not flow as free, but that was not for wanting to try. The same also applied to Madueke’s assists, three in the competition of 4.2 expected goals assisted (XAG).

One of the most crucial factors that Arsenal, or another worshiper, will want to see of a wide Vooruit at the age of 23, is that they get photos. For players in attacking areas, there may no longer be a valuable feature: even if the ball does not enter, at least do you get yourself in positions? Madueke did that, on average three and a half shots per 90 Premier League minutes. Nobody in his position took anymore, not Bukayo from nor even Mohamed is wrong. These were also not touched and hopers, his non-penalty expected goals (NPXG) per shot more than doubled from 0.055 to 0.12, about the competition average. These improvements are clear in the image below, a much larger part of the recordings in the box.

Note those efforts back and you will see the work that goes to Madueke who tests the goalkeeper. In the beginning of the season, the goals continued to come in a more transition -Chelsea attack, because the more strategic approach of Enzo Maresca was restored, he noticed that he had to beat more men to get his shots away. The crucial thing, however, is that he did it. The ball may not have entered the 3-1 win for him Liverpool At the beginning of May, but that was a matter of serious happiness for the champions, who had no answer to Chelsea’s no. 11 on both flanks.

The total NPXG from Madueke per 90 was shot up last season and rose from 0.15 to 0.42. The latter count was improved by three Wingers – Salah, Luis Diaz and Brennan Johnson – and the latter two did not offer the ball that Madueke wore. Again the right wing player of Chelsea, so often a third option in the rear attack Cole Palmer And Nicolas Jackson, is one of the best of the Premier League. The broad players with more progressive wears than Madueke? The Duo of Manchester City of Savinho and Jeremy Doku. Observers in the Etihad Stadium do not have to tell that the Vleugelduo did not match the Premier League goal by Madueke between them.

Madueke may not be the best crosser in the competition and his death has a fair way to go. But what cannot be disputed is that in 2024-25 he did many things that have a positive influence on winning. The numbers don’t lie. His expected added value of the possession and stat that does exactly what it says on the can, which assesses how much each action on the ball influences the winning-is extremely high for a player who makes so many shots.

There will be people who already read what your counter is. The eye test, bro. The vision of some may not place Madueke under the better wide ahead of the competition, but the data does. If he occasionally looks like someone who runs blind alleys down and drives on full back, he can’t pass by, who makes the wrong call in an attempt to make something happen, well, he is a wing player. That’s what they do.

Madueke has skeptics to win over and the acceleration of their club’s interest has asked anger in some sections of the online Arsenal fan base (admitted not something that is difficult to do). Maybe they don’t like more ex-Chelsea players. Those years with Willian and Raheem Sterling will do that to you.

Perhaps they are worried about how he would settle in the dressing room, given the questions about his attitude and working speed that Maresca has publicly increased, although it seems to be the worst in the world if Madueke delivers such a value in a diffuse way.

There are of course valid questions about the allocation of resources when it comes to Madueke, which it should be noted that it is struggling with muscle injury during his time at Chelsea. Arsenal spends aggressive this summer, but Andrea Berta’s credit card has limits. Is it worthwhile to push that for a player who profiles as an extremely good alternative to Bukayo Saka when there might be a chance to upgrade Gabriel Theminies On the opposite flank? Madueke played for Chelsea on both sides, but is more effective in sawing from the right on his stronger left foot. In limited Premier League minutes on the left flank, it is on average under three shots per 90 and hardly created a chance. He may also want to ask himself whether the role that Arsenal has reserved him is best for his development, although given that personal conditions are agreed between him and the Gunners, it is a bit late for the second thoughts.

Perhaps Madueke may not be the right player for the needs of Arsenal, but that is not the same as he is not a player on a process to play for one of Europe’s top clubs. Given his improvements and where he belongs to his Premier League opposite hits, it is difficult to see how that would not be. Not everyone on his current route ends a star, but many stars have a season like Madueke just had that kind of age.

Why would Chelsea let him go?

Therefore, why would Chelsea even entertain a dialogue with their rivals about Madueke? The 23-year-old needs more than one public dressing about his attitude since he arrived at Stamford Bridge. Twice in December Maresca dropped the player, and his punishment after a match against Aston Villa Is not the kind that managers tend to deliver unless they feel they have no choice.

“The moment he starts to score or help and is happy, he starts to fall a bit,” said Maresca after a 3-0 win over Aston Villa. “The reason he didn’t play is because I don’t find the way he finds trained. He has to understand that he has to train well every day, he must be ambitious. If he scores one tonight, he must go for the second, the third.

“He must be ambitious to give more assists. But in general he is doing great, he is doing fantastic.”

These are also no incidents isolated until last season. It was not good to try to take a penalty from Cole Palmer in April last year. On the other hand, even the most skeptical about Madueke’s attitude should acknowledge that it was not significantly improved the young person last season.

Joao Pedro makes his mark for Chelsea at Club World Cup while the attacking musical seats of Blues continue

PARDEEP CATRY

There is of course another argument to sell Madueke, that the money you take for him can finance superior signing sessions elsewhere. Take $ 70 million to $ 80 million for your no. 11 and change it in Rodrygo or see if you can praise Bradley Barcola from the Parc des Princes. That is smart things. Is it Flipping Madueke for Jamie Gittens? The former Borussia Dortmund-Man is a younger model and could tackle the left-wing problems of Chelsea, but the 20-year-old on average 0.31 NPXG+XAG in last season’s Bundesliga. Joao Pedro deepens Maresca’s options, and it simply cannot be argued that he did not score many punishments at Brighton.

Madueke’s sale can work for Chelsea. Willian Estevao looked exciting in his last game for Palmeiras, a defeat for his future employers. Gittens can also pop. However, it is worth remembering Chelsea what former Liverpool Director of Research Ian Graham noticed on their home field four years ago. Even with deals with high confidence in various factors, it is essentially 50-50 about whether a new signing pays off.

Madueke has a relatively cheap acquisition of a second level European League that can play more than 2,000 minutes for a Champions League qualifying match. There are no guarantees that he will continue with the dramatic upward trajectory of last season, but if he continues to develop on something like that path, this is an excellent player, someone who could be among the best and brightest in Boehly’s “portfolio” of stars.