Highlights
- Noni Madueke’s lack of playing time at Chelsea may lead to a potential January loan move to gain more experience.
- Journalist Ben Jacobs suggests the 21-year-old Englishman needs to prove his worth through hard work and discipline to earn a place in the first team under Mauricio Pochettino.
- Captain Reece James’ injury setback is a hammer blow for Chelsea, and he faces a race against time to be fit for Euro 2024.
Chelsea star Noni Madueke has struggled to cement himself as a starter under Mauricio Pochettino this season, though journalist Ben Jacobs has given reason as to why his future lies at Stamford Bridge, while speaking to GIVEMESPORT.
Despite the 21-year-old being a regular in the England Under-21 set-up, his fortunes are much less positive on the domestic front, given he has been featured in just 203 minutes across all competitions to prove himself since 2023/24 got underway.
At such a young age, the right-winger will be keen to gain as much experience at the top level as physically possible to give him the best chance of becoming a Premier League regular. As such, the prospect of a potential January loan move has begun to arise with the window just around the corner.
Madueke endured tough start to life at Stamford Bridge
Madueke, born in 2002, has not seen things exactly go his way since joining the Blues for a respectable fee of £30 million from Eredivisie giants PSV Eindhoven. Unfortunately for the Englishman, he arrived in west London alongside a litany of young and hungry stars, who were all vying for a route into regular senior proceedings, most notably the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk and Enzo Fernández, who cost them £89 million and £106.8 millionrespectively.
His arrival was met with lots of optimism given how he performed in the Netherlands, where he plundered 20 goals and an additional 14 assists in his 80-game senior career with PSV. Opportunities in England, however, have not been as rife with the Blues affording him just 848 minutes of action since inking a deal back in January.
Amid the ex-Tottenham Hotspur academy prospect’s on-field issues, the possibility on a loan move is being flirted with, with Jacobs recently revealing to GIVEMESPORT that Chelsea may consider sending the youngster out temporarily when the winter window opens for business.
Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer and Mudryk are all ahead of Madueke in the Chelsea pecking order and removing himself from the situation could be the best course of action for someone on the periphery. Despite the fact that his £50,000-per-week contract expires in 2030, Madueke could well move on in a bid to attract the attention of Gareth Southgate ahead of Euro 2024.
Ben Jacobs on Noni Madueke
Jacobs suggested that it is coherently down to the London-born star to prove his worth to Pochettino and his entourage amid his lack of minutes in Chelsea threads. The journalist does claim that he’s a hard-worker, a fantastic character and is a very likeable figure among his teammates, which all stand him in good stead for becoming a key asset to the first team.
Referencing his disciplinary issues, Jacobs insisted that as long as he keeps his head down and irons any issues out, then it won’t be long until Madueke is an esteemed member of the first team squad. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said:
“It’s really just about whether Madueke can force his way into the reckoning, which is the first priority. He’s training hard and he’s a fantastic character, he’s very bubbly and outgoing. So, he’s liked by his teammates, and he’s a very positive influence at the football club, which is another factor.
“So, it wouldn’t surprise me if he puts his head down now, he learns from some discipline issues, he gets fit because he’s injured at the moment, he gets some opportunities off the bench in the FA Cup and then, in the back half of the season, he starts to excel. I think that that will be the pathway that he’s told from Pochettino.”
Chelsea suffer hammer Reece James blow
For Pochettino, his inaugural season in the Stamford Bridge hotseat, somehow, keeps on going from bad to worse. The most recent news that has rocked the boat is that captain Reece James is ruled out of action until February or March after sustaining yet another injury in Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Everton.
Respected journalist Fabrizio Romano has reported that, following his medical assessment, another hamstring injury – James’ seventh of his Blues career – is what will be keeping the Englishman away from the pitch this time around.
Chelsea custodian Mauricio Pochettino admitted that losing his newly-appointed captain was a blowparticularly because the 24-year-old has struggled so much with ever-growing injury woes at, in the grand scheme of football, a young age.
With England’s Euro 2024 campaign on the horizon, James faces a race against the clock to be declared fit by the time Gareth Southgate picks his squad. A supremely talented defender marred by injuries, James has only managed to rack up 451 minutes of game time this season before being forced off against the Toffees.
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2023-12-15 23:32:12
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