When Noni Madueke left Tottenham Hotspur as a 16-year-old in 2018 it was undoubtedly seen as a blow but few would have perhaps predicted how much of a meteoric rise he would enjoy in the next few years.
He joined PSV Eindhoven on a free transfer and in the two-and-a-half years since he has established himself as a key player with a Dutch side.
This season, in particular, has seen the youngster impress, as he has contributed six goals and six assists in just 15 Eredivisie games. The England U18 international was superb with both the U19 and U21 sides at PSV so it is no surprise that he has been promoted to their first team.
He is now valued at £8.1 million by Transfermarkt and if his performances with PSV continue it would not be a surprise to see him return to the Premier League in the future.
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Considering Spurs’ current right-wingers are all struggling for form, with Steven Bergwijn, Lucas Moura and Gareth Bale having all disappointed with their performances in the Premier League this season, the North London club will perhaps be frustrated that they couldn’t convince Madueke to stay with the club, considering his quality performances on the right-wing with PSV.
The youngster has averaged a superb 7.15 rating for his performances in the Dutch top-flight, which would be enough to rank him as Spurs’ fourth-best player in the Premier League this season if he produced the same level of performances in Jose Mourinho’s squad.
Therefore, it is clear that Madueke is extremely talented, something that Spurs will have surely noticed during his time in the academy, so perhaps they could have done more to assure the youngster he would have first-team opportunities in the future.
Former PSV midfielder Tommie van de Leegte was full of praise for the youngster last year:
“He’s fast and has the capability to trick his opponent. He brings creativity and is very explosive in his actions.”
Madueke quotes former Manchester City winger Jadon Sancho as an inspiration for leaving Spurs in the hope of finding regular first-team football elsewhere, which suggests that the lack of opportunities for young players is not just a problem with the North London club, but throughout the Premier League’s bigger clubs.
Former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino did hand plenty of Spurs youngsters their debuts during his time in charge but it seems as if Madueke felt he was best served by moving elsewhere, a decision that certainly looks to have paid off.
And, in other news… Bye-bye Vinicius: Levy can find Kane’s Spurs partner in “outstanding” £18m-rated beast
