Arsenal’s pursuit of Noni Madueke has provoked a vociferous online reaction from fans. A poll conducted by Sky Sports shows around 70 per cent of 35,000 voters feel he would be a bad signing. Some have even signed a petition against the deal.
For many, the frustration stems from Arsenal shopping at Chelsea again. Madueke will become the seventh player in six years to move from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates Stadium. The list holds cautionary tales in David Luiz, Willian and Raheem Sterling.
Go back further and there are more examples, from William Gallas and Lassana Diarra to Petr Cech. Overall, it is clear which club has benefitted most from the transactions. Even the more successful signings, most notably Kai Havertz, continue to split opinion.
The £65m fee paid for Havertz remains a subject of debate, two years on, and the finances involved in the deal for Madueke are even more contentious. Arsenal will pay up to £52m, allowing Chelsea to make a huge profit on a player they signed for £29m in 2023.
It is a hefty fee, particularly for a player who primarily plays in the same position as Bukayo Saka. Arsenal fans are entitled to wonder whether Madueke has done enough in the last two and a half years at Chelsea to justify a 70 per cent increase in his value.
A lack of end product has been a source of frustration. Madueke started last season with a hat-trick against Wolves in a 6-2 win at Molineux but went on to score only seven times and provide only three assists in 32 Premier League appearances in total.
The top-line numbers are modest but Arsenal will have noted that they could easily have been higher. Statistically, Madueke's shots were worth a total of 9.66 expected goals.
The fact he scored nearly three goals fewer than 'expected' can be interpreted as evidence he is a poor finisher but it is more likely down to variance. Last season looks an outlier; the first in Madueke's career in which he has underperformed on his expected goals.
Arsenal will feel confident that a reversion to the mean could bring higher returns in future and, even amid questions over his end-product, there is no doubting the threat he provides.
Madueke ranked among the Premier League's top 15 players for non-penalty expected goals and expected assists combined per 90 minutes last season. He was in the top 10 for shots per 90 minutes and even higher for touches in the opposition box, in fifth.
Long-legged and upright, he is not the most aesthetically pleasing of players. His running style can appear awkward. But he is a quick and effective ball-carrier whose directness would give Arsenal another weapon on transitions and when breaking down compact defences.
Last season, he ranked top among all Premier League players for shot-ending carries per 90 minutes, on 1.63. His average of 1.98 successful dribbles put him nearly level with Saka (2.13) and a long way ahead of either Martinelli (1.29) or Leandro Trossard (1.34).
Saka back-up or Martinelli competition?
Of course, Madueke's best work has come from the right-hand side, where Saka has become a fixture in Mikel Arteta's team. The academy product is Arsenal's best and most important player.
Madueke's chance of usurping him looks slim. What he can do, though, is provide a high-quality alternative, sharing his England team-mate's workload and therefore lowering the risk of another injury like the hamstring tear that proved so costly last term.
Surely, though, Arsenal are not spending £50m just for a Saka back-up? Especially when they already have the hugely promising Ethan Nwaneri, whose development should remain a priority.
With reports suggesting Trossard could be sold this summer, Madueke is also expected to be used as an option on the left.
It is reasonable for Arsenal fans to feel underwhelmed at that prospect given previous links to more high-profile targets such as Real Madrid's Rodrygo. Madueke, unlike the Brazil international, is not even a natural on that side.
On the face of it, his appearances on the left for Chelsea in the final weeks of last season do not appear to offer much encouragement either. Madueke produced no goals or assists when starting on that side. He did, though, produce some encouraging displays.
There was a particularly eye-catching performance in a 1-0 win over Everton in April, when he forced a string of saves from Jordan Pickford. A week later, in a 3-1 win over Liverpool, he was similarly dangerous, with Arne Slot describing the problems caused by his dribbling as "something he hadn't seen before" against his side.
Madueke was subsequently used on the left by England boss Thomas Tuchel. He was one of few players to impress in their narrow World Cup qualifying win over Andorra last month.
Still, it is not the most compelling body of work.
Madueke was used almost exclusively on the right-hand side by former club PSV Eindhoven. Less than 10 per cent of his Premier League minutes have come on the left for Chelsea.
Work-rate worry or misconception?
Madueke will need to prove his left-wing credentials to Arsenal fans. Some will say he also has something to prove in terms of his work rate and temperament.
Enzo Maresca clearly valued Madueke, starting him more times than any other Chelsea winger last season, but he also questioned the consistency of his application. "Noni can do much more," he said in December, before dropping him for a game against Fulham. "He has to understand that he has to train well every day."
Maresca's comments, coupled with an unseemly dispute with team-mate Nicolas Jackson over a penalty against Everton last year, have contributed to shaping negative perceptions of Madueke but others who have coached him paint a very different picture.
Saul Isaksson-Hurst, a technical and skills specialist who has been working with Madueke on an individual basis since his time at PSV, described him as a "mentality monster" in conversation with Sky Sports before his move to Chelsea.
"He is so driven," he added. "He's got such a clear vision of what he wants to do and he is willing to put the work in." This is, after all, a young player who chose to leave Tottenham's academy for PSV at the age of only 16 in the interests of self-improvement.
Another coach who worked with Madueke in England's youth teams describes him in similar terms when asked by Sky Sports, saying he is a "lovely lad" who is "driven to succeed and single-minded", and who "listens to the advice of his coaches."
That same sentiment came across from Maresca's predecessor Mauricio Pochettino in May of last year, when, in the press room at Stamford Bridge after a win over Tottenham, he singled out Madueke for his "unbelievable" defensive work in helping rookie full-back Alfie Gilchrist deal with Heung-Min Son.
For Arteta, the hope is that he will be able to mould Madueke into the player he needs, whether that's on the right or the left.
But there is no escaping that it is a high-risk move at the price. On some levels, the doubts of supporters are understandable. Madueke is not an obvious upgrade on either flank. He does, though, have exciting tools to work with, and, at 23, potential to be tapped into.
From next season, Sky Sports' Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
