Chelsea winger Noni Madueke has been in the headlines ahead of his transfer to London rivals Arsenal.
Arsenal have agreed a deal with Chelsea to sign Madueke as Mikel Arteta looks to bring in a new wide man.
The Gunners’ decision to recruit the 23-year-old has proven controversial. Many supporters of the club do not want Madueke, while a lot has been said about his character over the past year.
At one stage last season, Enzo Maresca criticised Madueke for the way he was training.
Noni Madueke right winger of Chelsea and England prior the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semi-final match between Fluminense FC and Chelsea FC
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Noni Madueke’s character questioned
In the previous campaign, Madueke also posted a derogatory remark about the city of Wolverhampton prior to Chelsea’s 6-2 win at Molineux.
The season before that, the Englishman was involved in a penalty incident with Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson after trying to take the spot-kick despite not being Chelsea’s designated taker.
According to Flashscore, after all of that, some in the game have painted him as a figure who could prove difficult to manage.
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However, their report also claims that people at Chelsea do not believe such a thing and disagree with how Madueke is being described publicly.
While Madueke may have the backing of some figures at Chelsea, that will not stop him from leaving Stamford Bridge.
Maresca‘s men have already moved on without him, winning the Club World Cup final while he was in England.
It has been reported that Chelsea players have been mocking Arsenal after their latest trophy success.
Noni Madueke and Head Coach Enzo Maresca of Chelsea during a training session
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
What Paul Merson has said about Noni Madueke’s proposed move to Arsenal
Arsenal legend Paul Merson is not excited about Madueke’s expected switch to the Emirates either.
However, he is more concerned about the England international’s inconsistency than anything else.
Merson recently discussed Arsenal’s move for Madueke, saying: “He’s the sort of player that has a good game here and a good game there, but that’ll be it. The consistency of performance isn’t there.”
While Madueke has shown flashes of brilliance at Chelsea, he has not quite been able to fulfil his potential. But the former PSV Eindhoven man is still just 23. He has time to do that, perhaps under Arteta at Arsenal.