New Chelsea signing Noni Madueke get high praise from his technical coach and comparisons with Arjen Robben
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Technical Coach of new Chelsea signing Noni Madueke, Saul Isaksson-Hurst has spoken highly about the winger and compared him to legendary winger Arjen Robben.
Chelsea signed the London-born winger from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven last week for a deal worth around £29m. The 20-year-old has worked with Isaksson-Hurst for the past two years.
Madueke is one of the exciting up-and-coming left-footed wingers in the game. He was at PSV since 2018, initially as a U-17 player and slowly graduated to becoming a senior team starter. He was with the Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace youth setups between 2011 and 2018.
Here’s what his technical coach said (h/t Sky Sports):
“He is top. For me, he is one of the best young forward players in Europe, easily. A lot of focus has been on Cody Gakpo at PSV, because of the World Cup, but Noni is up there.
“He is one of the best, if not the best, because he is so dynamic, so strong in one-v-ones, so technically gifted, so athletic.
“Noni is an attacking wide player who likes to play on the right as an inverted winger, so one of his ‘super skills’ is cutting in on his left side, like Arjen Robben, and shooting from the edge of the box.”
It is good to see a coach praising his player days after he has made a big move to Chelsea. This would enhance the confidence of the winger if he was not that by now.
Madueke’s numbers have been good for PSV. He got 20 goals and 14 assists in 80 appearances in all competitions while playing all of his games as a right winger.
In terms of attributes, the England U-21 international possesses electric pace and fantastic dribbling skills. He has improved his decision-making in the final third as well.
If we look at what Chelsea had of a similar profile in the squad, it was Hakim Ziyech. The Moroccan star is more of a technical winger who creates chances, and scores goals but lacks pace. That could be one of the reasons why he hasn’t been able to play a regular part here since signing in 2020.
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- Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante closing in on a return from long injury layoff
- Everton midfielder Amadou Onana has rejected a chance to move to Chelsea
Madueke can offer pace and trickery in wide areas that can stretch the opposition’s defences. The more he plays, the better he gets. We hope the same trajectory is followed at Chelsea for years to come.