It's all coming to a head in the Premier League now, with the 2023/24 campaign drawing toward its closing stage and the heat throughout the division intensifying.

Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur side recently dispatched Aston Villa away from home to slash their deficit to the fourth-placed team to just two points, and with a game in hand.

While Spurs were dismal for large portions of last season, there has been a refreshing new take under Postecoglou's management that has seen the transfer recruitment polished and the progress on the pitch ramped up, with some entertaining and proactive football to boot.

While the likes of James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Brennan Johnson and Guglielmo Vicario have been tremendous since completing transfers to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last summer, the club's youthful underbelly speaks of an exciting future fighting for silverware and competing on the continent.

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While this wave of quality within the Lilywhites academy is far greater and more prolific than anything seen over many years, Tottenham have chugged out a prospect or two over the years (Harry Kane, stand up) but they haven't always been convinced of remaining in north London, with Chelsea winger Noni Madueke a prime example.

Why Spurs let Noni Madueke leave

Days ago, Madueke celebrated his 22nd birthday in London, and while he has yet to cement a regular starting berth for Chelsea after returning to England, he's definitely made some good choices thus far in his career.

Madueke spent much of his teenage years on the Tottenham books, impressing for the academy and even making an appearance back in the 2016/17 U18 Premier League campaign, yet to break into adulthood.

But he departed the club when PSV Eindhoven came calling and detailed in an interview with Sky Sports the reason for making this decision aged just 16.

"Tottenham was a great academy and they’ve got a great development plan. I’d been offered a scholarship agreement at Tottenham but I’d seen a lot of the boys – that were good as well – just kind of get lost in the system and I just didn’t want that for me.

“Going to PSV is not going to harm my development at all and if I’m good enough, I’m going to play quick in the first team, so that was really my mindset. I’m thinking ‘if I jump the queue, I’ll just be better than all my peers because whilst they’re playing Under-18’s and Under-21’s, I’ll be playing against men.”

It's hard to argue that Madueke's thought-out approach to his early development was inauspicious, having caught the eye as one of the Dutch Eredivisie's most promising youngsters after leaving London.

Noni Madueke's transfer value after leaving Spurs

Madueke, despite his youth, posted 20 goals and 14 assists across 80 senior appearances for PSV before leaving, with his performances leading talent scout Jacek Kulig to pronounce him a "wonderkid."

Such displays caught Chelsea's attention around 14 months ago as they looked to combat an abject start to life under Todd Boehly's ownership, and Spurs' London rivals forked out some £29m to snap him up in January 2023.

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Chelsea continue to flatter to deceive and Madueke has not quite enjoyed the return to the capital that he would have envisaged, but he's undoubtedly a top talent and Tottenham might come to regret pushing him toward the exit so soon.

His fleet-footedness and dynamism would be perfect in Postecoglou's system and he certainly offers skill surpassing that of Manor Solomon and Bryan Gil, the latter notably without a single goal or assist in 2023/24.

On a wage of £50k-per-week at Chelsea, Madueke is actually earning the same weekly salary as Van de Ven right now, so were he kept hold of for longer Spurs could have enjoyed his precocity for little expense before, potentially, shipping him out for a lucrative fee.

Or indeed utilising his abilities and bringing him to the fore at an improving and attractive project in N17.

Noni Madueke's Chelsea career so far

Madueke arrived at Stamford Bridge in the middle of a bleak winter, with cash splashed on a slew of stars to shape this new era at Chelsea. It didn't work.

Tottenham did not enjoy a good campaign by any stretch but Chelsea slumped to a 12th place Premier League finish, with 11 victories and 16 defeats.

Madueke was young and untested in English football but he impressed sporadically, starting seven times in the top-flight, scoring once – in a defeat against Arsenal – completing 82% of his passes, averaging 1.1 key passes, 2.8 dribbles and 5.2 successful duels per game, as per Sofascore.

He has the trappings of a real player and Chelsea recognised this, with writer Bobby Vincent speaking of Madueke's potential and the regard that he was held in by the club's powers that be.

The journalist said: "There's a genuine belief from senior officials at Chelsea that the former Spurs youngster can develop into a world-class talent at Cobham. Madueke is a really exciting footballer to watch and he will certainly cause problems for full-backs thanks to his blistering speed, his fearlessness and his directness with the ball at his feet."

The cogs haven't quite meshed together yet but Madueke has some standout qualities that point toward a future of real success, with his core attributes already on show.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries, the top 2% for successful take-ons, the top 1% for touches in the attacking penalty area, the top 17% for tackles and the top 1% for clearances per 90.

But what does that actually tell us? Well, he's got some breakneck pace at his feet, that's for sure, and while he's been neither clinical nor incisive in his goalscoring and playmaking under Mauricio Pochettino's wing, he's deadly on the wing and surges into the danger area with frightening regularity.

Moreover, Madueke is an active defensive member and will always chip in and provide support to his defensive peers, demonstrating the kind of commitment and desire that Postecoglou demands from his players.

1.

Dejan Kulusevski

Tottenham Hotspur

2.

Bernardo Silva

Manchester City

3.

Miguel Almiron

Newcastle United

Had Tottenham given him an opportunity, there's no telling whether he could have garnered a similar fee to the one that pulled him toward Stamford Bridge, but there's no question that a bit more prudence might have been wise, allowing him to complete a series of loan moves to settle his feet on the major stage.

Described as a "mentality monster" by reporter Samuel Isaksson-Hurst in the past, Madueke has everything he needs to find his feet in London, performing from the outset with constancy in the Premier League.

Ruefully, it's a shame it's not going to be with Tottenham.