“It’s about choice”- Chelsea boss provides an update on star attacker’s availability

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino gives a coy reply when asked about the absence of Noni Madueke

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino provided a cryptic answer when questioned regarding the absence of Noni Madueke in the 1-0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

It was expected that the youngster would be re-added to the squad, but his name wasn’t there for the Brighton game. It is now under the scanner given that Madueke has no injury concerns. It is all the more exaggerated given that Mykhaylo Mudryk keeps getting opportunities despite his well-documented struggles.

The U21 England international has barely featured for the Blues this season, making only three outings so far under the Argentine boss. There will undoubtedly be questions as to why the 21-year-old wasn’t chosen for the games, and Pochettino hasn’t provided a pertinent response as of yet.

Given the absence of Madueke, Cole Palmer started the game and was impressive. He and Ian Maatsen combined well in attacks, as we looked fluent going forward. Beating a formidable side such as Brighton is certainly going to be a morale booster for the Blues given their recent struggles.

However, during the post-match press conference regarding Madueke’s omission from the squad, the former Paris Saint-Germain gave an odd reply, quoted by Fabrizio Romano:

“Madueke injured? No, he was just not selected. It’s about choice”.

What’s going on with Noni Madueke? Who hasn’t been in the match squad for the last two games? We don’t know. It certainly seems suspect, and it will be interesting to see what becomes public. But then Chelsea do have a large list of players to choose from, something that Pochettino might be taking advantage of. After all, it is the Argentine who has a first-hand idea of how the players are in training.

For the time being, Palmer appears to have the nod on the right, and his performance against Brighton gives Pochettino every reason to start playing matches. We are hoping that Madueke will return soon since we will need him to rotate between Madueke and Palmer. The more options we have the better.

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The last time he started in Carabao Cup he also recorded a goal against AFC Wimbledon. But since then we have barely seen him play despite even recovering from an injury he picked in between. Hopefully, there is nothing serious.