Chelsea new boy Noni Madueke has been hailed as a "mentality monster" by a former coach after his £30m switch.
The England U21 star has made the move back to London, the city of his birth, from PSV Eindhoven and has been talked up by his personal skills coach. Saul Isaksson-Hurst, has worked with Madueke during the last two summers and gave him a glowing review ahead of his Stamford Bridge bow.
Chelsea have continued to splash the cash under Todd Boehly and have already spent over £100m in January. Madueke will bolster an already star-studded attack but, at just 20 years of age, has been tipped for major improvements due to his impressive attitude.
Isaksson-Hurst told The Sun : “Noni is one of the best young forwards in Europe. I’ve worked with a lot of top players but his intensity, mentality and desire to be the best is second to none. I call him a mentality monster — he’s really driven and has very clear goals and ambitions.”
The coach underlined Madueke's appetite to improve by recalling a summer episode: “We did a few weeks, three or four sessions a week. He went back to PSV and exploded on to the scene and was linked with a lot of clubs. We carried on talking, and then last summer, he actually flew me out to Marbella to do some intense training while he was on holiday.”
Madueke is the second forward to join the Blues this summer after their move for Mykhaylo Mudryk - who was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal before the west Londoners stumped up £89m to sign the highly-rated Ukrainian. Madueke will be up against several stars as he eyes a starting role.
Chelsea have struggled for goals, which comes as a surprise given the talent at their disposal. They haven't always played with a conventional No.9 as Graham Potter has deployed the likes of Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic in the final third.
Madueke's playing style has been compared to a former Chelsea favourite - Arjen Robben - who also joined from PSV back in 2004. Isaksson-Hurst added: “A player comes to me and I look at their position and where they play on the pitch. Then I look at what the game-changing moments are for that player and develop practices where we can develop and master the skills required.
"Noni’s super-strength is cutting in from the right and working with his left foot, a bit like Arjen Robben. We worked on a lot of variations of that, but also on how he could cut in using his right foot. For a forward player, it’s about assists and goals, what is going to help him break lines and give end product.”
