Noni Madueke has opened up on what he learnt from former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino and revealed the Argentine helped him mature among other things.
The 22-year-old didn’t have the best start to last season and was used sparingly by Pochettino, but over the second half of the campaign Madueke was given a run in the side and he chipped in with a number of important goals which helped Chelsea secure a top six finish.
Despite fierce competition for places in the wides areas, which has increased following the summer arrivals of Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Jadon Sancho, Madueke is doing everything he can to nail down a place in the starting line-up.
Madueke on what he learnt from Pochettino
The increased competition seems to have spurred Madueke on and he’s made a brilliant start to life under Enzo Maresca, scoring three goals in three Premier Leauge games, although he’s only featured in two having been left on the bench against Manchester City.
Madueke’s fine form has earned him a first call-up to the England senior squad and he could make his debut against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday.
There seems to be a new found maturity about his game and speaking whilst on international duty he revealed it’s something he learnt from Pochettino.
“I think Pochettino probably helped me mature a lot as a player in terms of the responsibility, being reliable, being robust, being able to play games one after the other, and keep a consistent level,” he told talkSPORT.
“He taught me a lot in that aspect.”
Consistency is something that has definitely improved in Madueke’s game, but it’s also something Maresca has demanded from him every day in training, with the former PSV man pushing to hit the highest level in every session.
Next up for Madueke after the international break is a trip to Bournemouth with Chelsea looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League.