Noni Madueke hailed as ‘better than Bukayo Saka’ as Chelsea criticised for ‘strange’ Arsenal transfer

Noni Madueke has been told he is ‘better than Bukayo Saka’, with former England and Chelsea defender Paul Parker questioning the Blues’ ‘strange’ decision to allow the England winger to move to Arsenal.

Madueke, 23, has been in sparkling form for the Three Lions, starring in Tuesday’s 5-0 demolition of Serbia in Belgrade, where he scored his first senior international goal.

The winger, who completed a £50 million ($67.8m) switch to Stamford Bridge during the summer transfer window, has now featured in both of England’s September World Cup qualifiers under Thomas Tuchel.

Madueke and Saka, both of Nigerian heritage, represent the latest generation of England’s multicultural stars and are widely regarded as two of the country’s most exciting attacking prospects.

While Madueke impressed in England’s rout of Serbia, Saka is recovering from a hamstring injury sustained against Leeds United last month and is not expected to return for Arsenal’s upcoming Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest.

Speaking to WhichBookie, Parker praised Madueke’s fearless style of play and hit out at Chelsea’s transfer strategy.

“Chelsea let Noni Madueke go to Arsenal even though he’s one of England’s best wingers, and he was probably their best player against Andorra. He came on when Arsenal were behind against Liverpool and I think he looked really positive. I thought it was a strange decision for Chelsea to let him go,” he said.

“With the way he plays, I actually think he’s better than Bukayo Saka. Saka doesn’t go on the outside, he doesn’t have a great change of pace and he doesn’t frighten defenders. Madueke does strike that fear into defenders because he wants to run at players and go past them,” Parker added.

Madueke’s rise with England comes as Thomas Tuchel’s side maintain their perfect qualifying record for the 2026 World Cup in North America.