Mauricio Pochettino Lauds Noni Madueke Months After Bashing Him For Playing Below Standards

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Adesina David

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May 14, 2023
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Mauricio Pochettino has come out to praise Noni Madueke after criticizing him some months ago.

Madueke's goals helped Chelsea secure wins against Luton Town and Crystal Palace, that being the first time he will score in consecutive matches for the Blues for the first time since joining the club in January 2023.

In September 2023, Pochettino came out publicly to reprimand Noni Madueke and some of his teammates for partying at a Mayfair Nightclub.

Noni Madueke had also previously missed Chelsea's match against Bournemouth due to injury.

Before this, Pochettino left Madueke out of Chelsea's squad in the Carabao Cup win against Brighton and he gave a shocking reason for the exclusion, the Argentine tactician said:

“Madueke injured? No, he was just not selected”. It’s about choice”.

The 21-year-old has seemingly turned a new leaf, and Mauricio Pochettino hasn't held back in acknowledging his player's improvement.


Speaking to reporters, Pochettino said: "I am so happy — it took him nearly six months to realize what we expect from him.

“Players need to improve and he is improving a lot — his behavior now, and the way that he has committed himself first, and with the rest of the ideas from the club.”

He further added: “Noni has potential and talent. He needs to do the things and behave in the future if he wants to succeed.

“That is the platform for everyone and then it is about being right in your mind and being consistent in the way we propose they behave.”

Madueke joined Chelsea as one of Todd Boehly's array of “young signings”. He joined from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023 for a transfer fee of €33M.

Noni Madueke has scored 4 goals for Chelsea since making his debut for the Blues in February against Fulham.

Madueke has also played 17 matches in total for the Blues, starting just three games since his arrival.

Mauricio Pochettino's and Noni Madueke's matter is also synonymous with that of Erik Ten Hag and Jadon Sancho.

It remains to be seen what will pan out between both parties as Jadon Sancho might be returning to Borussia Dortmund in a loan move.

Ten Hag had issues with Sancho's style of play, saying the Englishman was not always pressing enough but Sancho disagreed with Ten Hag's view and it was pretty evident in his body language then.

After the 3-1 loss at Arsenal, Ten Hag made it clear why Sancho didn't feature in the game.

Erik Ten Hag said: “On his performance in training, we didn’t select him. You have to reach that level every day at Manchester United.”

Sancho immediately hit back on social media against Ten Hag in a 'now deleted' post writing that any suggestions that his training was not up to standard were “completely untrue”.

Jadon Sancho added that he had been made a “scapegoat” for a very long time and he needed to speak out.

Erik Ten Hag reportedly wanted an apology to his face but the player with his lawyers involved disagreed, thus leaving the process in a barren end.

Sancho has since been training with the youth squad, with Manchester United also releasing a statement that he will be away from the first team “pending resolution of the squad disciplinary issues”.