Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has said it was a “choice” to omit Noni Madueke from his matchday squad for this week’s Carabao Cup win over Brighton.
The Blues spent £28.5m to bring the former Tottenham and Crystal Palace back to England from PSV Eindhoven during the January transfer window. Madueke made 12 Premier League appearances during his first half season at the club and was handed the number 11 shirt over summer.
But things haven’t gone as well for the 21-year-old so far this season. He scored in the Carabao Cup win over AFC Wimbledon last month but is yet to start in the Premier League.
Madueke then missed the Bournemouth and Aston Villa games because of injury, but was thought to be available once more for this week’s Brighton cup clash after returning to training.
Instead, Madueke took a place with Chelsea’s other absent players behind the team dugout.
“It’s about choice,” Pochettino responded when asked why Madueke wasn’t even on the bench.
Both Chelsea and Brighton named relatively strong sides for the game, perhaps seeing the potential in the Carabao Cup to lift a major trophy this season. In the end, Nicolas Jackson scored the only goal of the game early in the second half after an assist from Cole Palmer.
Chelsea return to Premier League action on Monday night with a west London derby against Fulham, hoping for just a second league win of the season to start climbing away from the lower reaches of the table. The goal against Brighton was a first in any competition since Enzo Fernandez got the winner against Wimbledon. The Blues haven’t scored in the Premier League in over a month.
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