Chelsea’s £52m Noni Madueke sale now looks even smarter as Arsenal deal turns sour
Chelsea made several big sales during the summer, with the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos and Nicolas Jackson all being sold for good money.
The summer before, Chelsea also raked in a lot of cash from offloading players. The Blues would have been happy with the fees they received for Noni Madueke, Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix and others they had on their books.
More than a year on, and one of those sales looks like an even better piece of business than it was at the time.
Noni Madueke sale was smart business with winger already being linked with Arsenal exit
Chelsea sold Madueke to Arsenal for £52m and were heavily criticised for allowing the winger to join their London rivals. Back in January, Joe Cole claimed that he was gutted to see Madueke depart Stamford Bridge.
In the end, though, Chelsea probably had no choice but to sell the 24-year-old. They brought in the gifted Estevao Willian, who plays in his position, and after signing Madueke for around £30m, Arsenal’s offer represented a great opportunity to make a significant profit.
Ultimately, at the time, it looked like solid business, and that has not changed. In fact, it looks even smarter now.
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According to The Telegraph, Madueke could already be on his way out of Arsenal despite only joining them last year. He has yet to start a game in the Premier League this season and is now being targeted by Atletico Madrid and Juventus.
Since leaving Chelsea, Madueke has gone on to win the Premier League title. However, the fact that he has never managed to nail down a spot in Arsenal’s starting XI and could now be heading for the exit door shows that the Blues probably made the right call.
Estevao also has a much higher ceiling than Madueke. Estevao is five years Madueke’s junior, but his dribbling is already as good as the England international’s, if not better.
Chelsea legend Willian has been singing Estevao’s praises recently, claiming that his compatriot will go on to become one of the best players in the Premier League one day. Madueke could have blocked his path.
Madueke is unlikely to have any regrets about joining Arsenal, even if he leaves the Emirates so soon. After all, he has won the Premier League playing for the club and participated in the Champions League final.
But Chelsea should not have any regrets either. Instead, they should be quite pleased that they made £20m profit on a player who could be deemed surplus to requirements at his current club very soon.
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