Inside 'tough love' plan of Chelsea's gesticulator in the gilet: Enzo Maresca has axed Noni Madueke after three strikes and is warning stars about their behaviour - but now the heat's on him
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Enzo Maresca has carte blanche as Chelsea's head coach to select his squad how he sees fit, without any undue influence from the impresarios upstairs, and in the curious case of the missing Noni Madueke, the expression 'three strikes, you're out' comes to mind.
![[It is the third time this season that Maresca has seemingly sent a message to Madueke]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/10/93514035-14229553-image-a-2_1735294584658.jpg)
Strike one arrived in August, a verbal warning after a Conference League win over Servette. Madueke scored, but Maresca told the 22-year-old England international that he must train better. Strike two followed at the start of this month, as Madueke’s levels dropped in training and so Maresca retaliated by dropping him to the bench for their game against Aston Villa. He had started their last 11 Premier League matches but was a substitute for that victory, once more told by his boss that coasting through sessions at Cobham will not be tolerated.
![[The winger is enjoying an impressive season but Maresca demands complete professionalism]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/10/93514071-14229553-image-a-3_1735294589424.jpg)
And now to what we can only assume was strike three, the punishment increased again with the winger excluded entirely from Chelsea’s match-day squad for their Boxing Day defeat by Fulham, a game in which Maresca named two goalkeepers on his bench as if to prove a point.
![[Maresca (right) is confident his tough love approach with Madueke (second left) will work]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/10/93514069-14229553-image-a-4_1735294602497.jpg)
While Maresca refused to reveal precisely why he axed Madueke – he was not in the mood to say anything other than it was ‘technical decision’ made by himself – it was enough to convince the 44-year-old Italian that the £30million attacker should be sidelined altogether.
![[After being dropped against Aston Villa earlier this month, Madueke responded well]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/10/93514063-14229553-image-a-5_1735294611010.jpg)
