‘Main target’ - Fabrizio Romano claims Newcastle United ‘missed out’ on England international
Newcastle United were reportedly interested in Chelsea winger Noni Madueke
Chelsea sensation Noni Madueke was a serious target for Newcastle United in the summer, according to reports.
It is no secret that the Magpies were targeting a winger before the transfer window. Yankuba Minteh aside, who joined as a youth player and has since left, is the only right-sided attacker Newcastle have signed post-takeover.
Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy are the current first-team options but Eddie Howe has experimented with Harvey Barnes or Anthony Gordon on the right. Reports claimed Newcastle were interested in Michael Olise before his big-money switch to Bayern Munich.
Another rumoured target was Madueke, Chelsea’s forgotten man who has enjoyed a stellar start to the campaign. The Blues appeared to be looking beyond the 22-year-old after signing Joao Felix, Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho.
However, four goals in five games have sent a reminder to Enzo Maresca and earned Madueke a place in the recent England squad. Just weeks earlier, Newcastle had been linked with a potential loan move for the winger.
Italian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed the interest was real at the start of the summer window. He told CaughtOffside: “Madueke was one of the main targets for Newcastle (in June). 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.”