Noni Madueke faces brutal Chelsea transfer reality as £95m plan starts early for Enzo Maresca

Noni Madueke ended the 2024/25 Premier League season on an 11-game dry run. He failed to assist in that time and ended up losing his spot on the right wing to Pedro Neto.

Having started with a hat-trick away at Wolves, which followed a promising finish to the 2023/24 campaign (three goals and two assists in nine league games as Chelsea lost just one of their last 12, winning eight, including five in a row to come sixth), Madueke's output has dropped off significantly. Although there were important goals in the Conference League, his form had certainly dipped.

An injury in February, which coincided with Nicolas Jackson being out for six weeks and Chelsea's worst run of the season, halted his promising momentum. Madueke had been key to Maresca's relatively free-flowing and attacking side that threatened a title challenge before Christmas.

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He is now in a real battle to remain relevant at Chelsea. Neto has had a much better 2025, especially since March, when he started to fill in up front, and is one of the standout players from the Club World Cup.Since Maresca turned to Madueke as a bespoke left-wing option to target Callum Patterson in one-on-one situations against Everton, the pair have had contrasting fortunes.

Madueke performed well in the flipped role and kept playing there. He caused Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Bradley problems one week after the Everton game but found things much tougher away at Newcastle United. He had little impact as Chelsea beat Manchester United and Nottingham Forest to get back into the Champions League.

His Conference League final left much to be desired and was evidence of the areas of his game that many have been heavily critical of. Madueke ran himself down blind allies, failed to link up effectively with his teammates, and offered little when tracking back.

The gap between his best and his worst is still too big. After Maresca called him out for poor performances in training at the beginning of December, Madueke settled back in and proved himself worthy of competing with Neto, going as far as controlling the right wing position.

When he is not on it, though, Madueke becomes a frustrating figure to watch. With Neto forcing him to the left at the Club World Cup, or Maresca's experiments leaving Cole Palmer on the right and Neto on the other flank, Madueke's spot is now uncertain.

Chelsea will welcome in teenage superstar Estevao Willian as an option on the right (and through the middle or left when needed) this summer.Madueke's future has never been more in the balance.

The club will listen to offers for him over the coming months and have refused to rule out a sale. He is not deemed as one of the few untouchables in the squad.

This does not mean he is being pushed out towards other teams but it does invite talks. He is available for the right price, which means he is available.

Given that Chelsea remain interested in versatile forwards such as Mohammed Kudus, there is still business to be done in attack. Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, and Joao Pedro address the striker and left-wing spot between them, whilst Estevao adds to the right-wing depth.

Chelsea would be overstocked if Kudus, who there is increasing levels of noise around, was to arrive. Madueke is currently the player on the outside looking in. Putting two and two together, plus the arrival next year of Geovany Quenda, and the writing appears to be on the wall.

Estevao and Quenda are both raw but talented.Together, they could cost a combined £95million when add-ons are taken into account. They will need time to adapt. Expecting them to become serious first team options on a regular basis in their first season would be wrong and adds unnecessary and unhelpful pressure.

However, in the long run, Madueke's work is cut out.Chelsea are firmly behind Neto, who was signed last summer for £51million, and Madueke has been on board for two-and-a-half years now.

His January 2023 move is an age ago comparatively for much of the Chelsea squad. The only players really still in the mix are Enzo Fernandez and now maybe Andrey Santos.

Benoit Badiashile is a backup and hardly played a league minute last season. Mykhailo Mudryk is suspended, and Malo Gusto is horrendously out of form.

Like Fernandez, Madueke has grown over time. His output has improved, from one goal in 12 league appearances (12 starts), to five with two assists from 23 games (13 starts), and last year seven goals and three assists from 32 matches (23 starts).

Below the surface there have been steps forward as well.His underlying metrics are trending in the right direction even if a poor six months have seen others drop.

Madueke has gone from 0.20 xG+xA (expected goals plus expected assists) per 90 in 2022/23, from a small sample size, to 0.44 in 2023/24 and finally 0.61 last season. Although he has struggled since the turn of the year, he ranks well on this front.

The only Premier League players under 23 with a higher xG+xA per 90 last season were Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Joao Pedro, and Dango Outtara. That is good company to be in.

Madueke, compared to last season (and his first half year at Chelsea), is taking more shots (80-31, 3.54 per 90 - 2.65) and has more on target.

He is completing more passes into the penalty area and providing more crosses. Where he has regressed, which is impacted by his 2025 struggles, are take-ons leading to a shot, shot creating actions, passes into the final third, and key passes.

That, his detractors will point out, has been costly for Chelsea and possibly his prospects at SW6. His touches in the penalty area have gone through the roof, though, as have his carries into the penalty area. Madueke is dispossessed less often.

This is why Arsenal, who are desperate for a new winger, are among those tracking him.They also have eyes on Rodrygo and previously Nico Williams. Madueke stacks up well when compared to those as well.

Newcastle are long-term admirers too. These are both rivals for Chelsea, both for where they are and where they want to get to. Selling Madueke to either would strengthen a competitor and also expose the risk of making a mistake.

With Kudus' £85million release clause, Chelsea will do well to get that fee to an acceptable level. Getting it down to enough that selling Madueke in order to fund the move makes sense is even more tricky, even if the aim is to use players as a make-weight for Kudus.

Either way, the fact that Chelsea are open to selling and have left their plans moving forward so public, paints the picture. Madueke is out of favour and other options exist on the market. Whether it is now or next summer when Quenda is assessed, Madueke is heading in one direction as things stand.

That could all change but as of now, there is no smoke without fire and Madueke's future is hotting up.