Chelsea must regret selling £20m star who’s now worth more than Madueke

Chelsea travel to Anfield in the Premier League this weekend, looking to cause an upset and continue their promising start to life under Enzo Maresca.

Much was made of the Blues’ transfer spending throughout the summer – on that note, the Chelsea fanbase would love to silence Jamie Carragher on Sunday – but it’s all coming together and plenty of excess weight was trimmed.

Despite the influx of attacking talent, Noni Madueke will be delighted with his progress over the past few months, having established himself as a regular starter in the top flight.

Noni Madueke’s rise under Maresca

Chelsea signed Madueke, a Tottenham Hotspur youth product, from PSV Eindhoven back in January 2023 for a fee of £29m, and while he initially struggled, it’s important to remember that the dynamic winger was thrust into a realm of severe turbulence.

The 22-year-old made headway last term, starting 13 times in the Premier League – ten of which arrived across the final 11 matches. This season, Madueke has already scored six goals across all competitions, having featured eight times.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 6% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals scored, the top 9% for pass completion and the top 5% for progressive carries per 90, emphasising not only his developing goalscoring quality but his natural athleticism and technical skill too.

He’s on the rise, but there’s actually a piece of deadwood sold only last year, also a winger, who has since enjoyed a huge resurgence and seen his market value surpass that of the newly-blooded England international.

Chelsea may regret Christian Pulisic sale

Chelsea forked out quite the pretty penny for Pulisic back in January 2019 for a fee of around £58m. The USMNT international moved back to Borussia Dortmund for the remainder of the 2018/19 campaign before linking up with Chelsea in the summer.

The winger started with great promise at Stamford Bridge but fizzled out across the duration of his stay, only scoring one goal during his final season in 20222/23.

Injuries and a loss of confidence superseded a very talented skillset, but AC Milan offered £20m to end his frustrating stint in England and he hasn’t looked back.

Still only 24, he’s been reborn in Italy, scoring six goals and adding two assists across his opening nine matches for the club. The American captain was once hailed as a “magician” by sports writer Al Butler, and he’s proving his merit once again after a testing period.

This is reflected in his raised market value. As per Football Transfers, he is currently marked with a £37m worth, whereas Madueke is only at £25m, with a lack of growth a by-product of Chelsea’s issues in recent years.

Of course, Chelsea’s overload of talent across their frontline suggests that Pulisic’s absence isn’t going to hamper the sharpness that Pedro Neto, Joao Felix, Jadon Sancho, Madueke and a whole host more of a Blues persuasion bring to the table.

But it could have eased the scattergun nature of Chelsea’s transfer dealings in recent years, keeping him on the books.