Ange Postecoglou is a really, really good manager, and while narratives can change like the wind in football, Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy will likely envisage a long-term future with the Australian at the helm.
Spurs are fifth in the Premier League after 25 matches, just two points behind Aston Villa in fourth place, and while the side's season has been marked by inconsistency once again, there is a vision, a purpose and synergy, that speaks of the possibilities down the line under Postecoglou's wing.
But a recent home defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers – who have now completed the league double over Postecoglou's team – has yet again maintained the ebb and flow of Tottenham's fluency.
5/10 Spurs star who lost the ball 22x was as bad as Son in Wolves defeat
Tottenham fell out of the top four as Wolves did the double over Ange’s side.
Many are unaware of the attacker's Lilywhites beginnings, but the starlet was indeed on Tottenham's books and even made an appearance in the U18 Premier League back in 2016/17, such was the strength of his prodigious roots.
Speaking of this fledgling phase in an interview with Sky Sports, Madueke said: "Tottenham was a great academy and they’ve got a great development plan. I’d been offered a scholarship agreement at Tottenham but I’d seen a lot of the boys – that were good as well – just kind of get lost in the system and I just didn’t want that for me.
“Going to PSV is not going to harm my development at all and if I’m good enough, I’m going to play quick in the first team, so that was really my mindset. I’m thinking ‘if I jump the queue, I’ll just be better than all my peers because whilst they’re playing Under-18’s and Under-21’s, I’ll be playing against men.”
Lost in the hubbub of youth football, Madueke moved to PSV at age 16, delving down an alternative route as he looked to sculpt himself into a top-class star down the line.
Now, he's back on English shores with Chelsea, and Spurs may yet rue the failure to keep him tethered to north London.
Noni Madueke's Chelsea career so far
Madueke has chalked up 31 displays for Chelsea so far since completing a £30m transfer from Dutch Eredivisie giants PSV Eindhoven in January 2023, where he had earned repute for his electric displays and led talent scout Jacek Kulig to gush over his "crazy good" ability on the ball.
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Player
Club
1.
Dejan Kulusevski
Tottenham Hotspur
2.
Miguel Almiron
Newcastle United
3.
Felipe Anderson
Lazio
4.
Bernardo Silva
Manchester City
5.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Napoli
Source: FBref
Madueke was part of the unrelenting influx as Chelsea's new regime looked to make lucrative investments and build from the smouldering ashes of Roman Abramovich's machine-like success in west London, but it hasn't clicked together yet.
In fairness, while he has largely been on the fringe under Mauricio Pochettino, the 5 foot 9 ace has scored four goals and supplied one assist from only eight starting appearances across all competitions, so there's evidence enough that he has the making of a high-class winger.
As per FBref, Madueke ranks among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries and touches in the attacking penalty area, the top 3% for successful take-ons, the top 2% for clearances and the top 16% for blocks per 90.
His fleet-footedness is truly edging into the realm of the elite, and if he can tweak and fine-tune his end product and decision-making in decisive moments, Madueke could yet blossom into one of the Premier League's most fearsome forwards.
Principally a right-sided wideman, Madueke would be a valuable asset under Postecoglou's wing, with his power of progression and technical skill slotting right into the Australian's high-octane, fluid-moving set-up.
Perhaps, like at Stamford Bridge, he wouldn't start every week at this primitive stage of his career, but were his youth development handled with more tact then he could be pushing for a prominent role down the N17 right now, in what might have precluded the need for a large outlay in signing Brennan Johnson last summer.
How Noni Madueke compares to Brennan Johnson
Johnson signed for Tottenham from Nottingham Forest in a £47.5m move on summer deadline day, having played an instrumental role in the City Ground side's successful bid for survival last year, posting ten goals across all competitions.
The Wales international has produced some promising stuff across the past months, starting 13 Premier League matches and clinching three goals and four assists.
He's only averaging 0.6 dribbles per game though and for someone of such a high-paced profile, there's little doubt that Postecoglou would hope to see more energy and penetration in possession.
Madueke, in comparison, is averaging 1.1 dribble per fixture in the Premier League despite his scant action (his aforementioned FBref metrics also corroborate the claim that he is the superior dribbler), also completing 86% of his passes to underpin the technical crispness that Postecoglou cherishes within his ranks.
Madueke has not quite managed to slot himself to the forefront of Pochettino's plans but there is no question that the Englishman boasts frightening qualities that could yet establish him as one of Europe's standout wingers.
In fairness, Johnson is also young in his career and has offered flashes of the high-class potential that prompted Levy to part with such a sizeable sum for his services.
But had Tottenham been a touch more scrupulous in their transfer activity over recent years, Madueke could have been guided to the first-team, preventing Johnson's acquisition from ever taking place.
Ultimately, only time will tell which star will enjoy the richer career…
