Noni Madueke gave Chelsea teammate Cole Palmer a nickname that reportedly left him feeling annoyed—just before sealing his move to Arsenal.
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Madueke is on the verge of joining the Gunners in a deal worth £48 million upfront, with an additional £4 million in performance-related bonuses, according to Sky Sports. ..Continue Reading
Arsenal have been searching for a strong backup to Bukayo Saka this summer and believe they’ve found it in Madueke, who was recently named in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.
The 23-year-old joined Chelsea in January 2023 and has since scored 20 goals across all competitions for the club.
However, he’s no longer seen as essential at Stamford Bridge and left the Club World Cup early—missing the final against PSG—to finalize his transfer to Arsenal.
Madueke is set to become Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard, and Martin Zubimendi.
The Gunners are also close to wrapping up deals for Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera and Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Madueke will be the second Chelsea player to make the switch to Arsenal this summer—a path previously taken by Petr Cech, Willian, Raheem Sterling, and David Luiz in recent years.
He’ll no longer be lining up alongside close friend Cole Palmer, with whom he’s shared a bond since their youth football days.
Despite their friendship, Madueke often teased Palmer at Chelsea by giving him a cheeky two-word nickname that reportedly left him mock-annoyed.
In an interview with former England goalkeeper Ben Foster for Amazon Prime Video, the winger said: “The thing about Palmer is that the guy genuinely loves football so much. He could be out there on the lawn, just kicking a ball around, from morning till night.
“[His nickname] It’s ‘chippy’, man. I call him that all the time. He gets angry, but it’s calm. Chippy, that’s him, man. Chippy chips. He’s going to be fuming when he sees this!”
The nickname is a reference to an old interview Palmer conducted with BBC Sport in his first campaign at Chelsea.
When asked for his favourite post-match meal, he said: “Chinese. Salt and pepper chicken, rice. Not salt and pepper chips, it’s too much that. You know chippy chips? They have to be them chips, or you don’t get them.”
