First of all, I want to say that I have been largely impressed with the performances of Noni Madueke so far this season, and he has absolutely earned his place in Enzo Maresca’s ‘best Xl’.
I can’t take anything away from him really and I think he’s been good. However, for me, it is time to start Pedro Neto ahead of him purely because he elevates us more. I think overall he brings more than what Madueke can bring and also, the latter is still very inconsistent in the final third and I’m not sure if that is something that will ever change. I must acknowledge Madueke’s goals this season though, which has been super important.
When Neto was signed by Chelsea it was an exciting marquee arrival. The fans went nuts. I was so excited. He was signed for a reason, so it’s time to deliver that reason.
The Neto signing, like Jadon Sancho, was something I had been calling for all summer and was very pleased to see us making such moves. Sancho and Neto were proven and established players who can improve us here and now. Sancho carried more of a risk due to his form when he was at Manchester United. But coming from a decent season with Dortmund, he was a good capture, and we have seen many signs of that so far. Sancho was upgrading on what we had.
And Neto was also upgrading on what we had – I rate him slightly higher than Madueke, with much respect to the latter.
I think Madueke is a super dangerous player and can still be very important to our squad. But Neto just brings more and must be a starter in his best position on the right.
He came on and showed this against Liverpool and soon became our most dangerous attacker.
Neto wasn’t just a threat in attack, it was his work rate and battling that made him stand out in this cameo role.
He also made 3 key passes 45 minutes and made 17 out of 21 accurate passes.
He was recently named as the player who has registered the fastest pace in the Premier League so far this season. It’s clear what he brings.
I think he seriously knocking hard on the door now, as he should be. I’m not going to be annoyed though if Madueke continues because as I say, he’s been great this season and I am in no way ignoring that or giving him his props for it. He deserves his flowers.
Again, it’s a great problem to have and represents good strength in depth and options to have on the wings. I applaud it.
