‘I Don't Have Any Doubt’—Enzo Maresca Offers Noni Madueke Transfer Update | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has backed Noni Madueke to play through the noise surrounding his future, with Arsenal considering making a bid for the England winger.

The Gunners have agreed personal terms with Madueke as they weigh up all the options available to them in the summer transfer window, but talks between the two clubs are by no means advanced and there is no guarantee a deal will be struck.

The speculation started to escalate before Chelsea's Club World Cup quarter-final win over Palmeiras, for which Madueke came off the bench for the final 30 minutes, and Maresca insisted ahead of Tuesday’s semi-final against Fluminense that he would have no issues calling on the 23-year-old again.

“Personally I think the same noise where before Palmeiras came, you see we gave him half an hour and he was very good, so I don’t have any doubt that if we need Noni he is going to help us,” Maresca told his pre-match press conference.

Maresca is still backing Madueke. / IMAGO/Pro Sports Images

“At the same moment, I can understand that as a human being when there are many noise around you it’s not easy to deal with that, but hopefully he can deal with that.”

Chelsea are not believed to be actively looking to sell Madueke but are open to selling for the right price, not least after UEFA’s fines for breaching financial rules left the Blues needing to raise money through player sales.

Christopher Nkunku, João Félix and Axel Disasi are three of many fringe players who could leave to help make up the deficit, but none are as valuable as Madueke, who is expected to command a fee of at least £50 million ($68.1 million) if he does leave.

That price tag will have to be considered by Arsenal, who have already spent £60 million ($81.7 million) on Martín Zubimendi and are reported to be closing in on an agreement to sign Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyökeres in a package worth close to £70 million ($95.3 million).