Chelsea winger Noni Madueke is watching videos of Mohamed Salah’s best goals to improve his finishing.
Madueke, 21, joined the Blues from PSV in January. He has scored just one Premier League goal to date. Surptisingly, he did bag a brace in England under-21’s 9-1 victory against Serbia on Thursday to leave Chelsea fans very excited about his outstanding potential.
Madueke’s strongest position is on the right flank and he’s aiming to follow in Salah’s footsteps. The Egypt international, 31, has scored 192 goals in 315 games for Liverpool since joining from Roma in June 2017, winning three Premier League Golden Boots.
Yet Madueke will be hoping to perform better at Stamford Bridge than Salah. The Liverpool star was part of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea squad between January 2014 and February 2015 but failed to make an impression, scoring just two goals in 19 appearances.
“I look at the best. James Ryder, our analyst, clipped up (Kylian) Mbappe and Salah, so I watch them a lot,” Madueke said. “The way they always follow their pass into the box, or when a team-mate is in the box, they’re always there to anticipate”.
“One thing I’ve got to add to my game is the easier goals, the one-touch goals – that’s what I’m trying to improve. I know I go at such a pace so sometimes I’ve got to calm down at the last moment, take a breath and then slot it away. I’ve just got to keep working.”
Madueke believes it’s “just a matter of time being things click” at Chelsea, where there is a lot of competition for places. Mauricio Pochettino has several wingers at his disposal, including Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Ian Maatsen.
Madueke has admitted getting into Chelsea’s starting XI is “difficult” but has thanked England U21 boss Lee Carsley and assistant Ashley Cole for giving him the “freedom to play”. He added: “I love coming over here and showing everyone what I can do.”
The emerging star will aim to put in another stellar U21 performance when England take on Ukraine in Slovakia on Monday. The Young Lions won the U21 Euros earlier this year but need to top their group to qualify for the next tournament in two years’ time.
England comfortably won their first two qualifiers – beating Luxembourg 3-0 before demolishing Serbia – but can’t afford to lose against Ukraine. Like England, Ukraine have also made a perfect start to qualifying with wins against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland.