How Chelsea star Noni Madueke became an England starter | OneFootball

Noni Madueke started both of England’s games in the November international break.

They were his first two starts for the England senior squad, having received his first call up by Lee Carsley in September. There was a bit of good fortune for Madueke with circumstance, as Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden were both out injured for the November international break.

But Madueke had earned his chance in the starting XI.

The Englishman has had an interesting start to life at Chelsea, joining in January 2023. In his first season, Madueke played just 12 games totalling 646 minutes under Graham Potter and Frank Lampard.

He had his best run of starts under Lampard, but recorded just one assist. Under Mauricio Pochettino last season, Madueke played 34 times across all competitions but again only amassed 1,593 minutes. He scored eight goals and provided three assists, averaging 0.62 direct goal involvements per 90 minutes. But he only featured in 34.5% of all available minutes for Chelsea.

This season, Madueke has featured in 54.9% of Chelsea’s total minutes. And it would be more if he wasn’t rested for the Europa Conference League league phase, being part of Enzo Maresca’s so-called first XI.

In the Premier League, Madueke has started 10 of Chelsea’s 11 games this season, only sitting on the bench for their opening match against Manchester City.

Madueke’s first start came against Wolves, and he made it hard to drop him, scoring a hat-trick in Chelsea’s 6-2 win at Molineux. He’s also scored against Nottingham Forest, equalising and gaining Chelsea a point.

While the goals have come at the same rate per 90 minutes as last season, Madueke is testing his luck slightly more. The Englishman has averaged 2.62 shots per 90 minutes this season, compared to 3.39 last season. He has also averaged 1.36 shots on target per 90, up from 1.24 last season.

This season, only two players have averaged more shots per 90 minutes for Chelsea across all competitions than Madueke. And those are Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix, who have the benefit of playing in the Europa Conference League.

But Madueke has improved this season in his work off the ball. The 22-year-old has averaged 1.02 possessions won per 90 minutes across all competitions this season, the third-most among Chelsea players.

He’s also sixth for possessions won in the middle third at 2.15 per 90.

“In football, I don’t think talent is enough,” Maresca told reporters last month.

“You need more. It’s not only about Cole (Palmer), it’s about all the attacking players that we have.

“You see how Noni in this moment is pressing forward, running back. He’s doing very good not just because he is scoring.”

In general, Madueke isn’t spending as much time on the ball this season as he was last season, and his passing numbers are lower. But Madueke has averaged more crosses this season, looking to get more balls into the box. He’s averaged 2.49 crosses attempted per 90 minutes, up from 1.86 last season.

And while Madueke has attempted almost half the take-ons he did last season (3.51 from 6.72), the Englishman has a better success rate. This season Madueke has completed 54.8% of his attempted take-ons, compared to 52.9 last season.

The change in tactics and fact that Madueke is starting, rather than coming on against tired legs, will impact some of these stats. But Madueke is impressing and improving, making the right-wing spot his own at Chelsea.