by Noni Madueke has hailed “really good guy” Lee Carsley after his first call-up to the England senior team.
The Chelsea winger has made a fine start to life under new boss Enzo Maresca and has scored four goals in four games in all competitions, including a hat-trick in a 6-2 Premier League win over Wolves last month.
On the back of those performances, Madueke has received his first call-up to the St George’s Park camp and could make his debut when they travel to the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League on Saturday.
Madueke and Carsley are no strangers to each other and have shared success together before, winning the European Under-21 Championship last summer.
The 22-year-old has praised the new England boss for his qualities on and off the pitch.
Madueke told BBC Radio 5 Live: “First of all, he’s a great person. He’s a really good guy, and he’s very friendly.
“He has many human qualities that make you feel good and at home.
“He’s also a great tactician. He has good ideas and he’s also able to implement the way he wants to play in your mind and make it easy for you. I think all great managers have that, and it’s a quality he has as well.”
“I couldn’t say more good things about him. He won the Euro with us.
“I feel like he’s a great manager – he knows the course, knows the system, knows the FA, he’s been here a long time, similar to Gareth (Southgate) in that sense.
“I hope he does very well. I believe in him, that’s for sure.”
Madueke has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer as Maresca continues his overhaul of the Chelsea squad.
The winger played 34 times under Mauricio Pochettino last season but with Chelsea’s arrivals throughout the summer, Madueke would not have been blamed for thinking his place in the team was in jeopardy.
But none of those rumours affected him. He added: “When you’re at a club like Chelsea and like they’ve been in recent times, I think there’s always rumours and speculation, but as a footballer you’ve just got to go out there every day and do your job to the best of your ability. That’s really what I was focused on.”
“I didn’t really listen to what was being said about me, I just focused on starting the season as well as possible. And luckily I had a good start.
“It was just whispers and stuff. So I was just concentrating on my football.”
