Noni Madueke has been at Chelsea for two years now – doesn’t time fly – and the last few months have really seen him putting down some roots and establishing himself as a regular in the team.
As recently as this summer there were rumours linking him with a move away, but that talk is fading now as it becomes clear he’s staying put. Enzo Maresca really likes him – he’s at worst option 1b on the right wing and has been 1a a lot of the time – and he now looks set to be a mainstay of the squad for years to come.
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Noni Madueke celebrates scoring against Southampton. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca sits impassively as Chelsea thrash Southampton.
Noni Madueke's torn up socks. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
He’s not the only player suddenly blossoming this year – so many of the young stars signed over the last few years have kicked into gear since August. Asked about this by Ben Foster on Amazon Prime, the winger explained that credit should go to Maresca – but not all of it:
“He’s a great tactical manager, and he’s helping us a lot with out football on the pitch,” Madueke explained.
“But it’s largely the same player. I just feel like it’s guys getting that Premier League experience, that first 12 to 18 months. And you’re seeing the talent flourishing. So I feel like that’s really the main thing.
You can see the full feature in the clip embedded here:
Time and experience combine with Maresca’s tactical nous and individual coaching to produce improved Chelsea
Chelsea team celebrate in a group with Enzo Maresca (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Chelsea team celebrate in a group with Enzo Maresca (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
We’ve said the same ourselves – it’s not taking anything away from the great work that Maresca has done to say that a lot of the improvement has also been a result of time and experience accumulating in such a young group. We saw the results improving towards the end of last season, and this season has been a continuation of that.