Athletic: How Chelsea got £52m for Noni Madueke and why winger left without asking for a move | OneFootball

The sale of Noni Madueke to Arsenal, confirmed last Friday, is likely to be one of Chelsea’s biggest outgoing moves of the summer. The winger had been playing as one of Enzo Maresca’s regular starters in the Club World Cup right up the point where he left the camp to complete the move, and despite plenty of updates from the likes of Fabrizio Romano, the switch did seem rather to come out of nowhere.

Why Madueke wanted Arsenal move

Noni Madueke completes Arsenal move.

Partly what was so interesting about Madueke’s move to Arsenal was why it came about. He had established himself for Chelsea and was part of a team who were starting to win things and finally looked like they were coming together as a force in English and European football again.

Why leave at that moment? Well, the Athletic’s piece says that “Madueke never asked to leave,” although he did realise he was “part of a previous generation of Chelsea signings.” The club are now moving in a new direction of signing mainly ex-Man City players, and with former Sky Blue Jamie Gittens coming in on the wing, Madueke clearly saw the writing was on the wall.

How Chelsea got £52m fee for Madueke after stats comparison

As well as the “why” of the move, we were also curious about the “how.” Once Chelsea knew Arsenal were keen and that Madueke was open to moving, how did they arrive at the £48m initial fee and the £4m in bonuses?

According to the Athletic, Chelsea “ran a comparison of Madueke’s statistics against Mohammed Kudus, Anthony Elanga and Bryan Mbeumo,” three wingers of a similar age who also made big moves this summer.

Madueke’s numbers compared well with them – he averages a goal or assist every 180 minutes. So the price was set by their fees.