Only Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson have more Premier League goal contributions at Chelsea this season than Noni Madueke. Such has been his rate of improvement, it is now 13 (eight goals and five assists) for the calendar year for the England international.
Considering Madueke didn't start 2024 as a regular on the right wing under ex-manager Mauricio Pochettino - he was one of a number being rotated in attack and quickly fell behind Palmer in one of the wide attacking spots - it has been some going. Set a challenge after Wednesday night's 5-1 win over Southampton to train better and to be more consistent, Madueke has no better player to look up to.
In Palmer, he not only has a role model - albeit one one his two months younger - but also a good friend. Unlike some in this Chelsea side who had played with Palmer previously at Manchester City, Palmer developed a bond with the former Tottenham academy hopeful while playing for England.
The pair went through the age groups together and have featured for six different teams since 2017. From Under-15s all the way to the senior side, Madueke and Palmer have progressed together. So much so, in fact, that of their recorded 63 appearances at the same time - according to Transfermarkt - 23 have come away from Chelsea.
Stylistically they could hardly be any different now. Madueke is a bright, speedy, one-on-one winger while Palmer has become a creative hub of near-perfect on-ball actions and threaded passes, with excellent finishing skills from all ranges. His rapid development into one of the world's best players has been in contrast to Madueke.
He arrived as one of eight signed by Chelsea in the January 2023 window and took a while to find his feet in what was a chaotic environment. Palmer's ascension to the top of the game has seen Madueke quite understandably go under the radar.
However, while Madueke has been in Palmer's slipstream in recent years, the ex-PSV Eindhoven man has always been one to watch for his now-Chelsea teammate. Speaking in 2020, via the Rising Ballers Instagram page, a then-18-year-old Palmer was left to answer questions from fans.
When asked who his best teammates were, Palmer said, "So now for the best five players that I've played with; Phil Foden, Tommy Doyle, Jayden Braaf, Noni, and Eric Garcia." It is quite the list.
Madueke, perhaps, is a surprise name in there given just how highly rated Foden and Garcia, specifically, had been at City for some time. As an electric option for PSV, though, Madueke generated enough attention to convince Chelsea to spend £35million to sign him.
Despite playing in a tougher league, Madueke's output has remained at a relatively similar rate to that of his Dutch form. Palmer knows the quality that he has and can bring to Chelsea moving forward as well. Given how well Chelsea's No.20 is, if there is praise coming from him then it should probably be trusted and listened to.
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