Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is hopeful that Noni Madueke remains focused on Tuesday's Club World Cup semi-final against Fluminense.
The Blues are currently preparing to square off against the Brazilian side in New Jersey as they bid to take a step closer to becoming crowned world champions.
However, while they benefitted from getting deals done for the likes of Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens in recent weeks, Chelsea are having to cope with speculation regarding their own players.
Arsenal are said to hold an interest in signing Madueke after the tournament in the United States reaches a conclusion with fees in the region of £40m and £50m being reported.
As it stands, though, the England international remains an option for Maresca in what is also a lucrative contest for the club.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca pictured on June 28, 2025
'He is a human being'
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Maresca gave every indication that the 23-year-old remains in his plans for the contest in New Jersey.
Nevertheless, he hinted that he would understand if Madueke 'may not find it easy' to deal with the "noise" that has transpired.
The Italian said, as quoted by football.london: "Personally I think the same noise where before Palmeiras came, you see we gave him half an hour and he was very good, so I don't have any doubt that if we need Noni he is going to help us.
"At the same moment I can understand that as a human being when there are many noise around you it's not easy to deal with that, but hopefully he can deal with that."
Chelsea's Noni Madueke celebrates scoring on January 25, 2025
Is Madueke likely to start?
Madueke has featured in four of Chelsea's five matches in the Club World Club, only playing no part in the last-16 tie with Benfica.
As alluded to by Maresca, he was introduced as a 54th-minute substitute against Palmeiras and helped Chelsea get over the line in a 2-1 win.
However, his game time has reduced since the last group game with Esperance Tunis on June 25, around the time that links with Arsenal started.
Despite Madueke having a contract in place until 2030, Chelsea are not short of wide options, and making a substantial profit on the £29m that they paid in January 2023 is likely to be viewed as an attractive proposition.
Furthermore, Madueke may feel that he will earn more football at the Emirates Stadium than at Stamford Bridge, making it increasingly likely that a transfer will be finalised if the two clubs can settle on a fee.
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