Noni Madueke honed his finishing skills under the legendary Ruud van Nistelrooy at PSG Eindhoven’s academy. And one of the 21st century’s most prolific goalscorers would have been proud at the way his young protégé tore ADO Den Haag apart on Sunday.
The Barnet-born 18-year-old cut inside from the wing to place the most precise of shots into the bottom corner just moments after coming on at half-time.
And, with just a few seconds remaining, he did it again as PSV sealed a 4-0 win.
Wriggling away from a series of challenges while showcasing his nimble footwork, Madueke once again located the postage stamp with picture-perfect accuracy.
In seven Eredivisie games this season, the teenager has four goals and three assists to his name. Just to make those statistics even more impressive, only two of those seven appearances have come from the start.
With Eran Zahavi, World Cup winner Mario Gotze and Leighton Baines-esque left-back Philipp Max providing ammunition aplenty, don’t be surprised if Madueke hits double figures during his first season in senior football.
“I think Noni Madueke is a revelation,” legendary PSV goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus told Eindhoven Dagblad on Wednesday.
Coach Roger Schmidt, a man whose high-octane attacking football should coax the very best out of the free-spirited Madueke, agrees.
“Noni has also had some very good moments this season, with multiple goals and assists,” says the former Bayer Leverkusen boss.
It is more than a year since Madueke took a leaf out of Jadon Sancho’s fairytale book and swapped Tottenham Hotspur for life on the continent. There’s little to suggest the former Spurs youth captain made the wrong call.
Like Sancho, he is benefiting immensely from joining a league famous for giving youth a chance and encouraging the kind of freeform offensive football that would make Jose Mourinho wince.
And, like Sancho, rumours of a return to England are starting to become more frequent. In July, the Daily Mail reported Wolverhampton Wanderers and (shudder) Arsenal are watching closely.
Madueke’s mentor, Van Nistelrooy, was 24 when he swapped PSV for Manchester United. And the teenager would benefit from taking inspiration from his most iconic of mentors.
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