It was a busy January for Chelsea as they underwent a dramatic £323m transfer splurge, bringing in eight players, while they also confirmed that Christopher Nkunku will join in the summer for £63m from RB Leipzig.
Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, Joao Felix and Noni Madueke all pitched up at Stamford Bridge last month for varying amounts in the Todd Boehly-backed spending spree.
You would be forgiven for having missed any one of their signings in among all the drama but the £26m move for PSV’s English winger Madueke is a fascinating one and it is a deal that seems to have gone slightly under the radar.
A 20-year old, who spent time in the youth systems at Crystal Palace and Spurs, Madueke took the jump to move to PSV at the age of 16 in 2018 – rejecting offers from Manchester United and Chelsea in the process.
He shone in Holland, refining his attacking instincts under the tutelage of PSV boss Ruud van Nistelrooy – scoring 20 goals and adding 14 assists in 80 games for the Dutch giants, having previously excelled for their reserve team – Jong PSV.
English winger Noni Madueke, 20, completed a £26m move to Chelsea from PSV in January
Madueke excelled during five years in Holland, scoring 20 goals in 80 games for the Dutch side
In fact, Van Nistelrooy was Madueke’s first coach at the club in the Under-19 side before the former Manchester United striker took charge of the senior team last year.
Madueke’s exploits, which also include four caps for England Under-21s – having previously represented the Three Lions at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 level – led to the 20-year-old making the exciting switch to Chelsea last month.
He is a player in a hurry, having moved to Holland to achieve his desire of playing first team football as quickly as possible and he has now found his way back to the top of the English game.
The winger made his debut for PSV when he was just 17 and shone in the Eredivisie while Madueke also helped his side to win the Dutch Cup last season – and he has featured in the Champions League.
Despite his immense talent and potential, he is a player who may not be that well-known by Chelsea supporters, but there was one man who could barely hide his delight at the culmination of years of hard work when the move to Stamford Bridge was confirmed.
‘Yeah, I’m really excited for Noni,’ Saul Isaksson-Hurst – who runs his own training and private coaching business,