Making the Case For and Against Selling Noni Madueke to Arsenal
If you have someone better, no problem. If you don't, what are you doing?
A player in his early 20’s, showing good potential for growth departing your club for a bitter rival would usually evoke more concern.
Noni Madueke is not a player beyond his best years. A Legend that has left a legacy that would be very hard to tarnish. Or a player had been given enough time to show very little.
Chelsea finished only five points below Arsenal in the Premier League. The aim should be to close that gap further, along with finishing higher. At the very least, even if in a backup role to Bukayo Saka, you risk strengthening a direct rival. In an era where the Premier League has arguably become a top seven battling for four or five tickets to Europe’s top table, those fine margins could be defining.
However, it is also in this era where Chelsea’s ownership have not been scared to sell to historic rivals. Mason Mount went to Manchester United and Kai Havertz left for Arsenal. In both cases, neither player has exactly reached new heights since swapping Blue for Red.
Noni might not be to the level of output of Cole Palmer or Moises Caicedo in the current ranks, however he was Chelsea’s best performing winger in 2024/25. Although some have dismissed those numbers, those are the numbers. That is the objective reality.
Seven Premier League goals and three assists. For comparison to players with similar minutes in the squad, Pedro Neto only reached four in the league, nine in all competitions, compared to Noni’s 11. Jadon Sancho only had three goals.
Now for some fair context, Madueke only increased he goal tally in the league by three from the previous season, despite securing over 1,000 more minutes. But as you can see below, the difference in a variety of attacking metrics are not vast. In some, Noni 23/24 is superior to Noni 24/25. But context on how Enzo Maresca and Mauricio Pochettino use wingers within their system might explain some of those discrepancies.
You could argue these stats help justify the sale of Madueke. That with a hefty fee from Arsenal you are allowing a talented, but not world beating talent, to walk out the door with the chance to upgrade in the market.
This, by far and away, is the strongest justification for this sale. Mainly focusing on Mohammed Kudus who West Ham expect to sell this summer, with Tottenham already having a £50m bid turned down and Chelsea expected to enter with a better offer. Although, at the time of writing, reports suggest Spurs are the only club in for Ghanaian.
Real Madrid’s Rodrygo could still be a potential addition, one that Arsenal are also interested in, but may become a stretch with them on the brink of securing Viktor Gyokeres and the pursuit of Madueke. Maybe instead of another winger, Chelsea invest in other areas of need; such as a goalkeeper, left-back cover or another centre-forward.
It would also be fair to include the argument that Chelsea’s new additions make up for the loss from Madueke. That being Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Estevao Willian. You also throw in the not ridiculous assumption that the players Chelsea already have can get better.
Cole Palmer rediscovers his goalscoring charm, Pedro Neto increases his output, Enzo Fernandez adds more goals to his game. These are optimistic hypotheticals. Arguably as weighted to one where Madueke reaches new heights in north London at Chelsea’s expense.
Pie charts aside, there is the eye test of watching the player at Chelsea and witnessing how impactful he can be. The Madueke of the first 12-15 months at Chelsea was encouraging but arguably selfish on the ball and a bit predictable. Over the past year we have witnessed a development that has added more.
An ability to take a fullback down the line rather than always cutting back onto his favoured left foot. Some of his deeper crossing on his left has been highly impactful against stubborn low blocks at the Bridge. In the run-in of the season, suddenly showing unexpected promise from the left of Chelsea’s attack against Everton and Liverpool.
These are traits that feel incomplete or not explored enough to make a firm judgement whether the player is “good enuff” for Chelsea. The numbers, factored into his age and his peers are still impossible to deny.
They show an impactful player who will try audacious things, a winger that will always rather take a shot than cut back and recycle possession. Those traits are ones Chelsea cannot afford to lose and must ensure are replaced instantly.
There is also the harsh financial reality that Chelsea need to offload quite a few names. A list that includes the bomb squad of Djordje Petrovic, Axel Disasi, Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja, Renato Veiga and Joao Felix. Christopher Nkunku remains a likely exit too despite his brief resurgence in the Club World Cup.
Following Chelsea being fined £26.7m by UEFA, with threat of another £50m fine if they do not comply with the rules in the next four years, the need for prudent sales are clear. Madueke is a sellable asset that could attract a pretty tidy fee.
Despite the constant scaremongering headlines from the usual suspects, Chelsea continue to be some of the best sellers in the market. It is not unrealistic to assert that Petrovic, Felix, Nkunku and Madueke could all bring you over £100m just in this current window.
In terms of a suitable fee for Madueke, Chelsea should be asking for £55m and over. On his own merit, Madueke is already playing for a top Premier League club, gaining over 2000 minutes last season, hitting a respectable number of goals and already starting games for England under Thomas Tuchel.
Given the current market that has seen the Blues pay similar for Jamie Gittens, the price for Joao Pedro, the bids going in for Anthony Elanga, the valuation placed on Alejandro Garnacho by Manchester United. These all justify Madueke being valued highly, even if personal terms with Arsenal have already been reached.
It is a risk no doubt, but not one that is guaranteed to hurt Chelsea if they react and ensure his exit becomes a mere afterthought as Havertz has.