Noni Madueke is hoping to carry his end of season form into the new campaign and believes team unity at Chelsea is at an “all time high.”
The Blues rallied strongly over the second half of last season under Mauricio Pochettino, and finished the campaign on a high with five wins in a row to secure a top six finish and a return to European football.
With Enzo Maresca now in charge Chelsea will be hoping for a solid pre-season and a better start to the new campaign than the previous one, which saw them win just three of their first ten Premier League games.
Team unity at an all time high
Despite a difficult start Madueke finished his first full season at Chelsea with a good run of form which saw him register five goal contributions in Chelsea’s last nine games, arguably his best run of form in Blue.
The 22-year-old could have a key role to play under Maresca with wingers a key part of the Italian’s system, and Madueke has been reflecting on his end of season form, and feels he’s improved certain aspects of his game.
“I was just playing a lot more, so it’s easier to stay in a rhythm,” Madueke told Chelsea’s website.
“I feel like I’ve improved certain aspects of my game, in terms of the defensive side, and in hand with that it’s just helped the offensive side of my game.
“I wanted to finish the season as strongly as possible and now just start next season fit. I really think the rest will take care of itself.”
The England under-21 international believes the difficulties the Blues went through last season has created a really strong bond within the squad which will act as a positive moving forward.
“I feel like our team unity is at an all-time high,” he added.
“We’ve definitely been through a lot, but there were definitely good moments throughout the season, and there were examples where in some moments we probably could have done a bit better.
“But I feel like that comes with a young team and growing together.
“There’s also an understanding that if we’re going to win together, we’re going to lose together.
“We need each other, for real, right now it’s an all-time high and I hope it continues just like that.”
Madueke could face increased competition for his place next season if Chelsea’s pursuit of Michael Olise is successful, which would no doubt drive him to perform to a higher level.