Chelsea winger Noni Madueke is looking to replicate his recent exceptional form for the England Under-21s at the club level and may have the opportunity to do so against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Madueke stole the limelight in England U-21’s win over France last week after registering a goal and two assists in less than half an hour as a substitute.
It was a much-needed confidence boost for the young winger, who had recently lost his spot at Chelsea.
After two consecutive starts under Graham Potter in February, Madueke only featured for six minutes in March.
He is now hoping that he will get the opportunity to make an impact for Chelsea.
“The international break is good but it’s best to be back at Cobham preparing for what we are trying to do in the last part of the season,” the former PSV Eindhoven star told Chelsea TV ahead of Saturday’s clash with Villa.
“It’s always good to be with the national team, I enjoyed myself, got a couple of assists and a goal, so I’m full of confidence coming back to Chelsea now to hopefully replicate that type of form.
“It’s always nice as a winger, attacker, or forward to contribute to goals.
“Obviously in essence, that’s what we’re meant to do and paid to do so it’s great to have that sort of impact, and I just hope that I can do it for Chelsea and contribute to wins in the near future.”
In fairness, Madueke’s lack of minutes had more to do with the formation change than his performance.
There are simply one fewer attacking spot in the team in Potter’s 3-4-3 formation, and Kai Havertz, Joao Felix, and Raheem Sterling are understandably ahead of Madueke in the pecking order.
Potter has confirmed that Sterling will not feature against Villa, however, so there Madueke could be in contention to start, just like Christian Pulisic also had a remarkable international break for the United States.
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