Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano reveals "strong interest" in Chelsea star before transfer U-turn
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Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Newcastle United had a strong interest in a potential move for Chelsea winger Noni Madueke during the summer.
The Blues decided not to sell the 22-year-old after his impressive turnaround in form during training and on the pitch, with Enzo Maresca now seeing him as a key part of the long-term project at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his Daily Briefing column, Romano explained that Madueke was high on Newcastle's list of targets early in the summer, but it never advanced to anything concrete in terms of negotiations, or an asking price communicated by Chelsea.
CFC fans will be glad their club kept hold of Madueke, as he has taken his game up a level this season, which has also seen him rewarded with his first England call-up.
Madueke transfer: Newcastle wanted Chelsea winger
Explaining how Newcastle looked at Madueke and how Chelsea ended up changing their stance after initially being open to selling, Romano said: "There were a lot of stories about Noni Madueke's future at Chelsea this summer, and it's true that there was at one point a moment when the Blues considered selling Madueke. They never considered a loan or that kind of solution, but in case of receiving an important proposal, it was a possibility for them to sell the player.
"That was at the end of June, and it came during that period you may remember when there was some confusion with Financial Fair Play and we saw Newcastle and other clubs trying some swap deals around England to make the FFP rules work for them.
"So, at that point Madueke was one of the main targets for Newcastle. 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.
"Chelsea are super happy with him and he's performing really well this season, recently earning his first England call-up, and so that's why Chelsea decided in August to call him untouchable. He's now considered a really important player for this project for this season and the long-term.
"The possibility of going to Newcastle was there in June, and for Newcastle Madueke was considered the perfect player. He was also on the list at RB Leipzig, who were looking for a winger and who also negotiated for Rayan Cherki. In the end they decided to go for a different kind of player in Antonio Nusa, but Madueke was also appreciated there.
"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."
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