Enzo Maresca has carte blanche as Chelsea manager to select his team as he sees fit, without any undue influence from the businessmen at the top, and in the curious case of the missing Noni Madueke, the expression “three strikes, you're out” arises. . to the mind.
The first strike came in August, a verbal warning after a Conference League win over Servette. Madueke scored, but Maresca told the 22-year-old England international that he should train better.
Strike two followed earlier this month, when Madueke's levels dipped in training and Maresca retaliated by leaving him on the bench for the game against Aston Villa. He had started their last 11 Premier League games but was a substitute in that win, once again told by his boss that he would not tolerate spending sessions at Cobham.
And now, in what we can only assume was strike three, the punishment increased again with the winger completely excluded from Chelsea's match day squad for their Boxing Day defeat to Fulham, a match in which Maresca named two goalkeepers on his bench as if to prove a point.
While Maresca refused to reveal exactly why he sacked Madueke – he was in no mood to say anything other than a “technical decision” made by himself – it was enough to convince the 44-year-old Italian that the £30 attacker million should be left out entirely.
What we do know for sure is that Maresca is a coach who demands total professionalism at Cobham; sources speak of a “fair but firm” culture being created.
Enzo Maresca has left Noni Madueke out of the Chelsea squad after the defeat against Fulham
It is the third time this season that Maresca seems to send a message to Madueke
The winger is having an impressive season but Maresca demands total professionalism
If a player is not performing as he should, Maresca will tell him privately and then tell the world, as he did with Reece James in October when he criticized his captaincy by saying he longed for a “proper leader”. That revelation, after a Conference League victory over Panathinaikos in Athens, Greece, took us all by surprise at the journalists' meeting.
Last week, Maresca joined the permanent promotions of Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George from the academy to the first team by giving a speech to the entire team as the 18-year-olds were assigned their lockers, either side of Joao Félix .
Long story short, Maresca told Felix and everyone else that he will be watching to see who shows Acheampong and George how they should act. Maresca ordered: 'You convince them that they have to defend that, and 'defending that' means working every day in the right way.' He ended his speech by saying: 'Creating the right culture is important. Work and welcome to both.
Maresca gives a lot of importance to what he sees in training. Arriving at Cobham for a recent press conference, the car park looked like a drive-in cinema, as a gigantic screen was there on wheels, eating up the space on the tarmac. Its traditional home is the pitch, where it is used during sessions to show players clips of matches so they can then work on them. Maresca is the practical one, the gesticulator of the vest, always trying to extract that extra percentage.
Maresca is confident that his tough love for Madueke will work. He did it the last two times he showed his teeth, after Servette and Villa, and the young man responded well. He was at Stamford Bridge to witness the 2-1 defeat against Fulham as a spectator, since one of Maresca's rules was that those excluded from the squad had to attend to support their teammates. Madueke was not alone as Renato Veiga was also sacked for a “technical decision” while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was injured.
However, as Ruben Amorim discovered with Marcus Rashford at Manchester United, that rigor can come under scrutiny if it is not earned later. For the first time since taking over at Chelsea, Maresca is feeling some of that heat himself, accused of cutting off his nose to spite his face.
Anyone who watched this lackluster defeat – Chelsea's first in the Premier League since October – could see how useful Madueke could have been off the bench. As impressive as they did their defensive duties, Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto finished the full 90 minutes without creating enough chances from either wing, as only one substitute was used overall when Christopher Nkunku replaced Nicolas Jackson after 73 minutes.
Madueke will be back in contention for Monday's trip to Ipswich, a clean slate ahead of Chelsea's attempt to return to winning ways. Maresca had told his team several times that if you add the competitive nature at Cobham, you will be included in the team, perhaps even as a starter.
Maresca (right) is confident his tough love approach with Madueke (second left) will work
After losing against Aston Villa earlier this month, Madueke responded well
Madueke arrived from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023. He is linked until 2030 and the club can extend his stay for another year. Newcastle were among those interested in signing him last summer and will soon face more competition when another right-wing option arrives: Brazilian prodigy Estevao Willian, who turns 18 in April.
There are no plans to try to move Madueke this January as Chelsea still believe in his abilities, including Maresca. They are already without the services of £89million winger Mykhailo Mudryk, still temporarily suspended after failing a drugs test, and the club's full focus is on securing a top-four finish this season in order to make a comeback. to the Champions League.
Before facing Ipswich, Maresca referred to the standards he wants to be established in training: “Without a doubt, the competition has to be greater. Not only Noni Madueke, but also Renato Veiga was not in the squad and the reason is exactly the same for both. There is no different reason, it is just a technical decision.
'He (Madueke) responded very well at that moment (when he was substituted by Villa), so there is no more to it than that. I hope the same this time. We never thought we were going to win every game but now we have lost and they just told me that we lost on August 18 (against Manchester City) and then after two months (against Liverpool), and then after another two months (at Fulham). We know that the reality is that you don't lose a game every two months. “Now it's a question of how we react.”
Maresca will be very aware of that reaction, since this is not a man who wears his eyes as decoration. With the youngest team in the Premier League, Chelsea need strong leadership. Certainly, no one can accuse this coach of being a pushover.