Chelsea star 'very similar to Arjen Robben' says top skills coach

The Athletic always manage to dig up something interesting to write about during the international break, and today is no different.

Simon Johnson has done an interview with Saul Isaksson-Hurst, a technique coach employed privately by various Premier League players, among them Chelsea man Noni Madueke.

The interview focuses on their relationship and goes into precisely what Madueke is learning from the coach, as well as what Isaksson-Hurst makes of his charge’s strengths and weaknesses. The winger’s attitude comes in for huge praise:

“I have been working closely with Noni for the last two years. I have seen no change in Noni’s approach since the first session we did together. He is still very driven, still wants to get better. He understands that the best do more and he has to work really hard to do it.”

There’s also some very flattering comparisons in terms of playing style:

“Noni is very similar to Arjen Robben in that he likes to cut inside onto his left foot from the right-hand side. That is one of his super-strengths. We talked about that and how doing that it also opens up the possibility of running down the outside — defenders are so conscious of his threat inside that it opens up the right channel.

“We worked a lot on faking to go in on his left but go down the right as well. We used (and still use) mannequins as defenders. We work on angles of approach, speed of approach, timing of movements. Then working on those end products. For an attacking player, a lot of that is shooting in and around the box.”

We’ve seen a fair bit of Noni at this stage, and nobody can ignore his ability to beat a man one on one. Isaksson-Hurst is clearly doing his part on that front. The way he won a penalty against Wimbledon was very memorable.

Now we just need to improve his decision marking in the final third to get him to level up.