Noni Madueke earned his third England cap in Sunday’s win against Finland in the Nations League and journalist Alex Howell has detailed exactly what Ashley Cole told the winger to do.
Madueke has made a good start to the season and has scored four goals in the first seven games of the season, including a hat-trick in the 6-2 win against Wolves.
The 22-year-old has carried his impressive end of season form into the new campaign and has nailed down the right wing spot in Enzo Maresca’s strongest team, despite the arrivals of Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto and Joao Felix.
Ashley Cole’s instructions to Madueke revealed
Madueke has been one of Chelsea’s most dangerous players this season and former Blue Tony Cascarino has said he would like to see him play as a striker if Nicolas Jackson got injured.
The former PSV star has impressed with his directness this season and his one on one play is one of his strongest attributes.
Madueke’s form for Chelsea saw him handed his England debut by Lee Carsley in September and he will be hoping to establish himself as a regular in the national team set-up moving forward.
The Three Lions beat Finland 3-1 thanks to goals from Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice, with Madueke coming on as second half substitute, whilst Cole Palmer had a rare off day.
When preparing to come on former Chelsea star and current England assistant Cole was seen giving Madueke instructions, which Howell has revealed.
Howell told BBC Sport as cited on X.com:
“When he [Madueke] was coming on, England assistant Ashley Cole just kept pointing and gesturing for him to be direct and go down the line when he came on. He’s done exactly that and England look more dangerous.”
Madueke is definitely developing as a player and has made a huge improvement from the end of last season to the start of this one, with Maresca a big fan, and it will be interesting to see how he develops over the remainder of the campaign.
