Fabrizio Romano reveals Newcastle United identified 'perfect' £29m star before Chelsea transfer U-turn

Chelsea winger Noni Madueke scored a hat-trick in a 6-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last month and his the joint-second top goalscorer in the Premier League so far this season. It comes after Chelsea were open to selling the 22-year-old during the summer with Newcastle United among the clubs linked.

The Magpies considered a move for Madueke - who joined Chelsea from PSV Eindhoven for £29million in January 2023 - as Eddie Howe looked to strengthen his wide options during the summer. Madueke has made 51 appearances for Chelsea since his arrival, scoring 13 goals. Ultimately, Newcastle decided against pursuing a deal for the player before Chelsea also changed their stance.

Explaining the situation surrounding Madueke over the summer, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano said via CaughtOffside: “There were a lot of stories about Noni Madueke’s future at Chelsea this summer, and it’s true that there was at one point a moment when the Blues considered selling Madueke. They never considered a loan or that kind of solution, but in case of receiving an important proposal, it was a possibility for them to sell the player.

“That was at the end of June, and it came during that period you may remember when there was some confusion with Financial Fair Play and we saw Newcastle and other clubs trying some swap deals around England to make the FFP rules work for them.

“So, at that point Madueke was one of the main targets for Newcastle. Then what happened? After that, Chelsea saw how special Madueke was in training and in official games under Enzo Maresca. There is the feeling inside Chelsea that Maresca and his staff have been able to change the mindset of Madueke – it’s something they’ve been working on in training and you can see it already in official games.

“It’s important to note that there was not even a negotiation between clubs, from what I’m told. It was just strong interest as Newcastle appreciate Madueke, but no talks, no price communicated, not even a discussion with the player’s camp. He was just very high on the Magpies’ list.

“The possibility of going to Newcastle was there in June, and for Newcastle, Madueke was considered the perfect player.

“Now, however, it’s clear that Madueke is staying at Chelsea and is an important player for them after his fantastic recent performances, so it’s a completely different story around the winger.”

Newcastle didn’t end up signing any wingers during the summer transfer window and also failed in an attempt to sign top defensive target Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace. The club’s hierarchy was criticised following an underwhelming summer which also featured a close call regarding Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules and a potential points deduction back in June.

The Magpies were effectively forced to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to Nottingham Forest and Brighton respectively for a combined fee of £68million. In relation to the Anderson deal, Newcastle also helped Forest by signing goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos for a reported £20million.

The Greek international is yet to feature in a matchday squad for the club so far this season.