Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Cole Palmer, Chelsea, Arsenal, Transfers, Premier League, Football
Ryan Smart
Topics: Cole Palmer, Chelsea, Arsenal, Transfers, Premier League, Football
Noni Madueke made Chelsea team-mate Cole Palmer 'angry' with a special nickname before the completion of his move to Arsenal.
Madueke is set to sign for the Gunners for an initial fee of £48 million plus £4 million in add-ons, as per Sky Sports.
Arsenal have been targeting competition for Bukayo Saka this summer and have found it in the form of Madueke, who was named in Thomas Tuchel's most recent England squad.
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The 23-year-old signed for Chelsea in January 2023 and has scored 20 goals in all competitions for the Blues.
But he has become surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge, and left the Club World Cup before Chelsea's final win over PSG to finalise his Arsenal move.
The 23-year-old is set to become Arsenal's fourth summer signing, after they completed deals for Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi.
They are also closing in on moves for Valencia centre-back Cristhian Mosquera and Sporting star striker Viktor Gyokeres.
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Madueke will therefore be the second Chelsea player to move directly to Arsenal this summer - a path also trodden by the likes of Petr Cech, Willian, Raheem Sterling and David Luiz in recent seasons.
He will no longer play alongside close friend Palmer, with the pair having known each other since age-group football in their teens.
Despite their friendship, Madueke did jokingly leave Palmer 'angry' on a repeated basis at Stamford Bridge after giving him a two-word nickname.
In an interview with former England goalkeeper Ben Foster for Amazon Prime Video, the winger explained: "The thing about Palmer is that the guy genuinely loves football so much. He could be out there on the lawn, just kicking a ball around, from morning till night.
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"[His nickname] It's 'chippy', man. I call him that all the time. He gets angry, but it's calm. Chippy, that's him, man. Chippy chips. He's going to be fuming when he sees this!"
The nickname is a reference to an old interview Palmer conducted with BBC Sport during his first season at Chelsea.
When asked for his favourite post-match meal, he said: "Chinese. Salt and pepper chicken, rice. Not salt and pepper chips, it's too much that. You know chippy chips? They have to be them chips, or you don't get them."