Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed that he "absolutely" wants Noni Madueke to remain at the club, rather than be sold before the end of the summer transfer window.

Having contributed three goals and one assist during pre-season, the expectation was that the winger would be involved in some form against Manchester City on Sunday.

Instead, the England Under-21 international remained as an unused substitute as the Blues went down by a 2-0 scoreline to last season's Premier League champions.

Madueke was then left out of the starting lineup against Servette on Thursday night, despite Maresca making nine changes for the first leg of their Europa Conference League playoff tie.

However, the 22-year-old would ultimately play a key role in a 2-0 victory, surging into the penalty area to lash a shot into the roof of the net from 10 yards with 76 minutes on the clock.

© Imago

"He needs to be consistent"

On the back of the disappointment at the weekend, the suggestion has been that Madueke could be sold should Chelsea receive a suitable offer before the August 30 deadline.

While Maresca alluded to as much in his post-match press conference, he also stressed that he was eager to retain the services of Madueke for 2024-25.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference, as quoted by football.london, the Italian said: "I really like Noni. The only problem with him probably is that he has to understand he needs to be consistent during the week; every training, every training, every training. But he is a good player and he is doing well with us."

On whether he wants Madueke to stay, he added: "Yeah, absolutely. The reality is until the transfer window is open, anything can happen. But for sure, Noni is the type of player I like."

"We have so many games. If it's not today [that he plays], it will be the next one, if it's not the next one then it will be the other one. We have so many games.

"The important thing for Noni, I like him, he is doing well since he started with us, the only thing he has to improve is to become consistent. Every day, every day, every day, work hard - and then he will get minutes for sure."

🤝 @NoniMadueke_ giving us that two-goal cushion. 😁#CFC | #UECL pic.twitter.com/dfqG1oJaUi

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 22, 2024

Where does Madueke sit in pecking order?

With Madueke having started as a substitute against Servette, there is every indication that he is at least fourth in the pecking order on the flank.

Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku are versatile and can be deployed in a number of roles, while the money spent on Pedro Neto and Joao Felix seems to indicate that they will be handed plenty of minutes.

Madueke is among a number of players, alongside the likes of Mykhaylo Mudryk, who will likely have to take their opportunities when they come.

That said, he can argue that he has grown into his role at Chelsea, now having 10 goals and three assists from his 47 appearances in all competitions.

Written by
Darren Plant