Find the next Drogba! Chelsea's 'crazy' transfer policy slammed over Madueke deal

Robin Bairner

• 20 Jan 2023 20:51 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea are close to making PSV midfielder Noni Madueke their sixth signing of the January transfer window.

After a world-record spend in the summer, the Blues are once again dominating the football transfer news agenda this month, with deal after deal being completed.

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What has been eye-catching about Chelsea’s work in the transfer market is that they have been landing young players in big-money purchases. The most eye-catching of these players has been Mykhailo Murdyk, who they pinched from under the noses of rivals Arsenal.

But beyond the hundreds of millions of pounds that new owner Todd Boehly has been spending, it has been puzzling to see the Blues stockpile attacking midfielders when they clearly need reinforcement in other areas of the pitch, such as centre forward and central midfield.

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Madueke is another attacking midfielder that Chelsea are ready to spend an estimated €40 million on, and the decision is one that has left critics in the Netherlands puzzled.

“Chelsea need a type like Didier Drogba or Diego Costa because Kai Havertz isn't a real No.9,” Ajax legend Jogn van’t Schip, who has been an assistant at the Amsterdam club as well as the head coach of Greece, commented.

“They also did a good job of hiring Joao Felix on loan. Then they buy Madueke, with all those players in his position. I think it's a crazy policy, to be honest.”

Although former Tottenham academy player Madueke has impressed in the Netherlands when fit, he has been riddled with injury problems over the course of the last 18 months, which has seen his stock fall.

As well as Mudryk, the Blues have also signed Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana and Joao Felix during the January transfer window, during which they have made a total spend of €171m – and that’s before the Madueke deal is factored in.