Chelsea’s star of the season so far already under pressure, despite latest Romano comments | OneFootball

If you had to pick one, Noni Madueke might be the star of this Chelsea season so far.

He had a strong preseason and has started this season with 3 goals in the Premier League and another in the Conference League qualifiers. Manager Enzo Maresca has been praising him, and he’s forced his way into the  first team after sitting on the bench in the opening game of the season.

It’s all impressive considering there were very serious links with transfers away from Chelsea as recently as a month ago, when teams like Newcastle were seriously linked.

As of today, top insider Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the winger is going to stay at Chelsea, and that a move is off the table. We can believe that. After a long wait, it feels like we’re close to seeing him moving towards fulfilling his potential. He’s more productive on the ball, and is motivated to defend.

Noni Madueke cups his ear to the haters.

Madueke under pressure despite good start

But his strong start shouldn’t fool anyone – this is a super competitive squad in his position, and even just a few quiet games could cost him. He and the rest of the attackers didn’t perform against Bournemouth last week, and if he draws a blank again on Saturday he will feel pressure, despite the strong start to the campaign.

Pedro Neto can play on the right wing, as can Cole Palmer. Then there’s Christopher Nkunku or Jadon Sancho or Joao Felix who could all be shoehorned into the team at some point. There are many different configurations for these attacking players, and Madueke can’t rest and feel like he’s ever safe in his spot on the right wing.

This is just the atmosphere we want – everyone should feel like a really good player is ready to take their place.