According to Football Insider, Newcastle United are closing in on the signing of Chelsea winger Noni Madueke and have already agreed terms with the player.
The Magpies have had a relatively quiet transfer window so far and have struggled to make a strong impact on adding quality depth to their squad with the signings they have made.
John Ruddy and Odysseas Vlachodimos join the North East outfit to bolster the goalkeeping department and Bournemouth’s out-of-contract centre-back Lloyd Kelly was a fantastic free transfer, whilst Lewis Hall, as expected, completed his permanent move from Chelsea after completing a successful 12-month loan with Newcastle last season.
A huge improvement to performances and availability will be needed next season if Newcastle are going to compete to regain a spot in the European qualifying spots in the Premier League against the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
As a result, in the weeks remaining before the summer transfer window closes, the St James’ Park faithful will be hopeful that the club will act with more intention to bring in game-changers and players who can make an impact to tally up those crucial points needed over the 38-fixture campaign.
Football Insider has reported this morning that Newcastle have agreed on personal terms with Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, and are close to agreeing on a deal with the West London giants to get his signature secured as soon as possible.
The right winger has emerged as the first choice target for the Magpies after missing out on Michael Olise and complications that have hit them in their pursuit for West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and Leeds United’s Crysencio Summerville.
Will Newcastle sign Noni Madueke this summer?
There is no doubt that strengthening the right winger position has been something that has been a hot topic for Newcastle fans over the last 12 months, as Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy are not at the level needed in the first choice spot.
Almiron only managed five goals and three assists in all competitions over last season, while Murphy managed three goals and eight assists in total, both averaging numbers that are fine for back-up options in the squad, but are not the kind of numbers you will need in order to compete with some of the biggest clubs in the top flight.
Over 23 Premier League appearances, Madueke scored five goals and registered two assists despite only averaging 47 minutes per performance, not only that he averaged 1.4 shots on goal, 31.7 touches, 2.3 ball recoveries and 1.6 successful dribbles per game, numbers that will be expected to only improve when given regular game time.
Despite only joining Chelsea in January 2023 for £29m from PSV Eindhoven, Madueke quickly made his mark capturing the attention and praise of former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino who labelled the winger as “unbelievable” in a post match conference:
“Noni Madueke today was unbelievable,”
“If you analyse him at the start of the season – before all the conversations and meetings, the clips and videos, things like this – he was always, like today, capable of doing a fantastic job with the ball.”
“Of course, he is an offensive player but without the ball he is doing a fantastic job to help Alfie [Gilchrist] defend.”
It has also been reported by Football Insider that Almiron could still be set for a move to Saudi Arabia before the summer transfer market closes for business, with an unnamed club expected to reach an agreement to secure the Paraguayan winger’s signature imminently.
With that being said, should a deal be completed for Almiron’s departure it would make even more sense for a Madueke deal to happen at St James’ Park in the coming days, so this one will definitely be one to watch for Newcastle fans.
