Madueke offers Chelsea timely reminder with stunning England U21 cameo
The gifted winger, a £29million January arrival at Stamford Bridge from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven, only came on in the second half of Saturday’s U21 friendly against France in Leicester as a 66th-minute replacement for opening goalscorer Emile Smith Rowe of Arsenal.
But Madueke certainly made the most of his cameo at the King Power Stadium, delivering a goal of his own as well as two assists for Liverpool’s Curtis Jones and Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey.
Such a decisive win saw Lee Carsley’s Young Lions end France’s 14-game unbeaten streak as they continue preparations for this summer’s European Championship, with Croatia up next in another friendly at Fulham’s Craven Cottage on Tuesday night.
On target: Noni Madueke had two assists and a goal off the bench against France in Leicester
/ PAMadueke will hope to have done enough to earn a start in that fixture, while he will also look to play more of a prominent role for Chelsea after the international break.
The 21-year-old, formerly of Tottenham and Crystal Palace as a youngster, has only made four appearances for the Blues so far with just two starts and was omitted from Potter’s squad entirely for the knockout stages of the Champions League.