Over the past few years, Chelsea’s transfer strategy hasn’t followed a routine pattern in terms of cost, but there has been a common theme in terms of profiles.
It seems that Todd Boehly is looking to create a squad full of young talent that can help the club sustain success for multiple years, such as Moises Caicedo and Malo Gusto.
However, the most exciting youngster could now be Estevao Willian, who recently became a Blue until 2033.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a Chelsea star who’s now become worth even more than the talented wonderkid, and still has plenty of potential himself.
Chelsea Football Club has agreed a deal to sign teenage forward Estevao Willian from Palmeiras, with the Brazilian to officially join Chelsea next summer. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/SHLVRaD4gi
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 22, 2024
What Chelsea paid for Noni Madueke
In January 2023, Chelsea brought the highly-rated Noni Madueke to the club in a bid to bolster the attacking department and find a permanent solution to the right-wing spot.
Prior to his move to Stamford Bridge, the attacker was playing his football in the Netherlands for PSV, where he was known as a “crazy talent” by some, including football scout Jacek Kulig.
The then-20-year-old joined Chelsea for a fee of around £31m, as he signed a seven-year contract with the option to extend for a further year.
Without the luxury of a pre-season, Madueke jumped straight into the action of the Premier League, starting seven times and scoring once, but it was last season when he began to show his true ability.
Madueke’s transfer market value in 2024
The 2023/24 campaign for Chelsea was a rather unique period, with new boss Mauricio Pochettino attempting to find his best squad.
This meant that plenty of players were rotated, and game time was somewhat infrequent, especially for Madueke, who was competing against the excellent Cole Palmer for the majority of the season.
Therefore, the Englishman only made 13 Premier League starts last campaign despite making 23 appearances, and most of them came towards the end of the Argentine’s time at the club.
Nonetheless, he truly cemented himself into the side once Palmer had been moved more centrally, scoring five goals and registering two assists, which is a respectable return considering he averaged 47 minutes per game.
| Chelsea’s Most Valuable English Players | |
|---|---|
| Player | Value |
| 1. Cole Palmer | £84m |
| 2. Conor Gallagher | £51m |
| 3. Noni Madueke | £42m |
| 4. Levi Colwill | £42m |
| 5. Raheem Sterling | £34m |
| Via CIES’ Football Observatory | |
The number 11 is currently estimated to be worth around £42m by CIES’ Football Observatory, which is clearly an increase from the figure he was bought for.
Impressively, as of right now, Madueke is still much more valuable than Estevao, who joined Chelsea for an initial fee of £29m, as per Fabrizio Romano. Why is that particularly interesting? Well, they could well be fighting for the same place on the wings in the years to come.
When compared to the entire Chelsea squad, the left-footed ace is only behind Palmer, Mykhaylo Mudryk, and Nicolas Jackson for transfer value when it comes to attackers, while also being the joint-third-most valuable Englishman at Chelsea.
Usually, signing a player of the Brazilian’s quality would instantly make Madueke feel like his spot was under threat; however, the winger won’t arrive at the club until next summer.
A tidy finish from Madueke. 🙌#CFC | #AvlChe pic.twitter.com/GDjsEsuSNT
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 27, 2024
This means that the number 11 has a full season to truly showcase what he’s all about in the Premier League and, more importantly, Enzo Maresca, and that added determination could just see him explode next year.
Overall, considering his market value has increased and he has begun to show why Kulig described him as having “enormous potential,” Chelsea looks to have hit the jackpot by signing Madueke last year.
