Enzo Maresca says Noni Madueke “needs to work harder” to secure a place in Chelsea’s squad despite scoring in their 5-1 win at Southampton.
Madueke had scored just once before the trip to St Mary’s and was left out of the starting line-up against Aston Villa last weekend.
The England international found the net with a fine corner against the Saints and also had one for Christopher Nkunku – but Maresca insists he can do more.
He said: “Noni can do so much more. It can do so much more. The moment he starts scoring or assisting and he’s happy, he starts to fall a bit and the reason he hasn’t been playing is because I don’t like the way he’s been training.
“He has to understand that he has to train every day well. He must be ambitious. Scored one tonight, should go for second and third. He needs to give more assists.
“But overall, he’s doing great, he’s doing fantastic. In numbers, it does even better. Noni has to understand that he has to work harder because he can get much, much, much better.”
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Maresca made seven changes for the game on the South Coast, with Madueke starting alongside Cole Palmer, Joao Felix and Nkunku, with Pedro Neto, Nicolas Jackson and Jadon Sancho among the substitutes.
Their five-star performance underlines the depth Maresca has in the Blues squad, with the Italian insisting competition for places means players need to play regularly.
“There are players at the back who are ready. We have four wingers who are all very good,” added the Italian.
“Pedro and Noni for the right side, Jadon and Misha (Mykhailo Mudryk) for the left side and the moment one of them goes down for whatever reason, there is one at the back who is ready.
“Noni is not allowed to go down because Pedro is there and doing fantastic. If Pedro goes down, then Noni is there.
“That’s what they need to understand if we want to be there or be around for something important.”
Chelsea stayed in second place with the win as they closed the gap behind Liverpool to seven points after drawing 3-3 at Newcastle.
