Arsenal have completed the signing of England winger Noni Madueke from Chelsea for an initial fee of £48.5m.
The 23-year-old was part of Chelsea’s squad at the Club World Cup in the United States but left the camp before last Sunday’s 3-0 win against Paris St-Germain in the final to finalise his move to Mikel Arteta’s side.
Madueke has signed a five-year contract at Emirates Stadium, with his fee rising to just over £50m with add-ons.
“Humbled and blessed to be here. Thank you to everyone that made this possible,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I can’t wait to get on the pitch and start to repay the faith shown in me. It’s going to be so special.”
He made 92 appearances for Chelsea after joining from PSV Eindhoven for £30m in January 2023 and scored 20 goals, helping them win the Conference League last season.
He was part of Crystal Palace and then Tottenham’s academy before spending four-and-a-half years in the Netherlands, where he won the Dutch Cup.
Madueke made his England senior debut in August 2024 and set up Harry Kane’s winner as Thomas Tuchel’s side defeated Andorra 1-0 in World Cup qualification last month.
Arteta told Arsenal’s website, external: “Noni is an exciting and powerful young player, with his performances and numbers in recent seasons being of consistently high quality.
“He is one of the most talented wide forward players in the Premier League.
“At just 23, Noni already brings experience of club and international football, and he knows the Premier League very well.
“Having seen the quality of Noni’s performances up close in recent seasons, we’re really excited he is joining us. His arrival will really improve our squad.”
News of Arsenal’s interest in the Chelsea winger had prompted a backlash from a section of the Gunners supporters earlier this month.
A petition, titled #NoToMadueke, was signed more than 5,000 times and murals outside the club’s Emirates Stadium were vandalised with ‘Arteta out’.
Madueke becomes Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer and second from Chelsea following the arrival of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Midfielders Christian Norgaard from Brentford and Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad have also joined while the club are also close to signing striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting and Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera. (BBC)
English