Noni Madueke had an interesting interview with Ben Foster that came out today, and we loved some of the Cole Palmer facts that we got from it.
Foster asked him whether the Wythenshawe Wizard watches football as well as playing it, and Madueke confirms he does. In fact, Noni says that Palmer’s love of the game is perhaps his greatest strength, and the key to his astonishing rise:
“Cole watches football… but playing it… Cole loves the game so much. We all do, but Cole loves it so much. I feel like that’s his super-strength.”
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Noni Madueke speaking to Ben Foster on Amazon Prime.
Noni Madueke celebrates scoring against Southampton. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca left frustrated on the sidelines at Everton. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
It’s interesting as you often hear about players (Lionel Messi being the most famous example) who actually don’t like watching football and don’t really care about the game beyond the matches they’re playing in.
Given his slight “space cadet” vibes, you can see why that’s suspected of Palmer – but clearly it’s not the case.
You can see their discussion in the clip from Amazon Prime Video Sport embedded here:
Madueke full of interesting in sight on Premier League transition
Ben Foster interviews Noni Madueke.
Ben Foster interviews Noni Madueke.
There’s loads of other interesting bits in there, particularly on his adaptation to the Premier League after arriving from PSV.
The winger admitted that after 20 minutes of his first few games he was already exhausted and wondering how he would cut it in the English top flight.
But Madueke says he’s “a lot more robust” now he’s adapted to the relentless tempo of it all. The accumulation of games he describes sounds exhausting – but this year he’s only playing once a week at most as the club keep up their A team / B team rotation, so it should be no wonder we’re seeing good performances from so many players who had struggled before.
Still, Madueke admits he wishes the season was “just a little bit shorter.”