“Talk about somebody taking their opportunity” – Bent names Blues ace who impressed him on International duty | OneFootball

Darren Bent has been impressed by the impact Noni Madueke has had for England and praised the winger for making the most of his opportunity.

Madueke has made a good start to the season for Chelsea and has scored four goals in 11 league games, including a hat-trick against Wolves.

The winger has been a mainstay in Enzo Maresca’s side and has started every league game except against Manchester City on the opening day.

Bent impressed by Madueke England impact

The 22-year-old was rewarded for his good start to the season with a call up to the England squad by Lee Carsley and Madueke made his debut against Finland at Wembley in September.

Madueke’s form has dipped in recent weeks and there have been calls from some sections of the Chelsea fan base for him to be dropped.

Against Arsenal he didn’t have the best game and made the headlines after he went straight down the tunnel when he was substituted in the second half.

Madueke made his England debut in September. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Enzo Maresca played down the incident at the time, but Rio Ferdinand labelled the winger as disrespectful for his actions.

Madueke has come out since and given his version of events and insisted he just went to the toilet before going back to the bench.

Unlike team-mates Levi Colwill and Cole Palmer who pulled out of the England squad for the Nations League games Madueke started against both Greece and the Republic of Ireland.

The winger had two positive performances and got an assist for Ollie Watkins against Greece, which would have given his confidence a boost.

Bent was impressed by Madueke’s performances and praised him for taking the opportunity that had been given to him.

“I think the [England] squad is thicker than maybe we anticipated,” he told talkSPORT.

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“When I say thicker, I’m talking about depth. For instance, it was always [Bukayo] Saka. You’ve got [Jarrod] Bowen. Now you’ve got Madueke all of a sudden. Talk about somebody taking their opportunity. He’s played well.”

Madueke has certainly put himself in the conversation for England, but recently admitted he didn’t view Bukayo Saka as competition, but he’s certainly given incoming boss Thomas Tuchel something to think about.