1 day ago
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€40m market value
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One potential transfer that looks sets to divide opinion more than most this summer could revolve around yet another deal involving Chelsea and Arsenal. The Gunners have bought a number of notable players from their west London rivals in recent years, including goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga already this summer, and reports suggest that Mikel Arteta's team are now close to agreeing a deal for Blues winger Noni Madueke. According to The Athletic, the winger has agreed personal terms with Arsenal, with transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano suggesting the Gunners have submitted an initial bid to Chelsea for a package worth around €60 million including add-ons.
On the surface, the deal is quite hard to comprehend. Of the 92 games Madueke played for Chelsea, 83 of them were played off of the right-wing. In the seven games he started as a left-winger last term for his club, he failed to score or assist in any of them. At Arsenal that is Bukayo Saka's position. He's one of their best players, and, if fit, the Englishman is going to start there for the majority of matches. So to spend €60m on a player who is going to get limited game-time seems a bold strategy.
However, some suggest Madueke is being signed to cover both wings. To provide competition for Gabriel Martinelli on the left and cover for Saka on the right. If this is true, it would likely rule the Gunners out of signing another left-winger such as Real Madrid's Rodrygo. But have Madueke's performances in the Premier League warranted such a fee regardless of where he ends up playing? And what could it mean for the rest of the Arsenal squad and their summer transfer plans?
Noni Madueke's mediocre time at Chelsea
Madueke was signed by Chelsea from PSV in January 2023 for a fee of €35m. In the Netherlands, he scored 20 goals and provided 13 assists in 80 matches. Following his move to Stamford Bridge, Madueke has shown glimpses of elite talent and had some purple patches of form, such as when he scored a hat-trick against Wolves on the second match-day of last season. However, on the whole he has been fairly inconsistent. Since he signed for the Blues, Madueke has started just 47 of a possible 95 Premier League games. In that time, he has provided just 20 goals contributions (13 goals and seven assists).
As illustrated in the graphic above, those numbers in terms of goal contributions rank Madueke 30th in the Premier League in the same timeframe among all wingers. He is 74th overall among all positions. Those are hardly numbers that would seem to warrant Arsenal paying close to double the fee that Chelsea paid PSV two years ago. He has nevertheless made seven caps for the England national team in that time, and seems to be admired by new Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel. It also should be remembered that in the past, other Arsenal signings such as David Raya and even Martin Ødegaard were questioned, but proved themselves to be astute pieces of business.
Another potential issue could be attitude. Whilst it's very hard to truly gauge a player's attitude from outside of the club's bubble, there have been incidents that could raise concern. Such as when he tried to take a penalty off of regular taker Cole Palmer in the 2023/24 season and came to blows with his teammate - that doesn't give a great look to the outside world. In December of last year, manager Enzo Maresca also dropped Madueke from the playing squad against Aston Villa, and explained why: "The reason he was not playing is because I don’t like the way he trained. He has to understand that he has to train every day well, Noni has to understand he has to work more." This attitude certainly won't be accepted by the demanding Arteta at Arsenal.
Reports suggest Madueke is very keen on the move to the Emirates, but if he finds himself on the substitutes bench more often than not, questions may be asked as to whether Madueke is the sort of character to accept that and push himself harder to get back in the team. A lot of the good work under Arteta has come from changing the culture at the club. Certain standards have been set on the training field. Arsenal even departed with club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang mainly due to off-the-field and attitude issues.
Another stumbling block of this potential move could be the effect it has on teenage prodigy Ethan Nwaneri. Whilst most people expect him eventually to play more centrally, also being back-up to Saka on the right-wing would offer the youngster the opportunity to get more minutes - something that could be quashed by a potential deal for Madueke. The 23-year-old Chelsea winger is undoubtedly a very talented player and would add more depth and competition to Arsenal, but with many other issues to address in the squad, it's understandable that some questions are being raised around this potential signing. Should a deal get over the line, both Madueke and Arteta will be hoping to prove a lot of people wrong.
