Arsenal may have the perfect incentive to offer Chelsea star Noni Madueke as they close in on a £50million transfer. The Gunners are expected to complete a deal for the England international this month once he returns from the Club World Cup in America.
Madueke’s final act for the Blues could be to lift the silverware after their final against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday. However, the result is unlikely to impact negotiations between the two rival clubs, with Chelsea needing to recoup funds following their latest spending spree this summer. That’s despite Madueke impressing under Enzo Maresca last season, scoring 11 times in 46 club appearances.
The 23-year-old wore the No.11 shirt in 2024/25, having previously taken No.31 upon his arrival from PSV in January 2023. In Eindhoven, he wore the 10 top after cementing himself as a first-team regular, the same number he commanded as a youngster when playing for the club’s Under-17 side.
That shirt at Chelsea is now in the hands of Cole Palmer. The club’s marquee player has inherited it from Mykhailo Mudryk, who is currently provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance.
However, Madueke is now in line to adopt his favoured number once he moves across London. The Arsenal No.10 shirt is currently vacant after Emile Smith Rowe moved to Fulham.
Ethan Nwaneri appears to be another contender for the shirt previously donned by the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Mesut Ozil, and Robin van Persie. However, at 18, and yet to nail down a regular starting place in Mikel Arteta’s XI, such a show of faith from the club appears unlikely.