New Arsenal signing Noni Madueke has reportedly been reclassified as a homegrown player following his move from Chelsea.
According to The Athletic, a request was made before the end of last season to change Madueke from a non-homegrown player to a homegrown one. The Premier League has reportedly updated Madueke’s status, meaning he won’t need to be counted as one of the 17 non-homegrown players Arsenal can name in their 25-man Premier League squad.
Madueke swapped Chelsea for Arsenal earlier this month for a fee worth up to £52 million ($69.9m). Despite widespread criticism among Arsenal’s fans over the move, team-mate Declan Rice and manager Mikel Arteta have backed the 23-year-old to be a success at the Gunners. And this registration change is a boost as it may allow the north London team to sign another player to fill up their 17-man non-homegrown player roster.
The report adds, however, that UEFA rules on homegrown players differ from the Premier League. The Gunners must submit two squad lists to UEFA: List A (main squad) and List B (players born on or after January 1, 2004). Those in List B must have been eligible to play for Arsenal, who are playing in this season’s Champions League, for two years without cessation since turning 15.
Madueke, who cannot be named as one of the eight locally trained players for UEFA competitions due to his time spent at PSV Eindhoven, will link up with his new team soon but is currently enjoying a break after his Club World Cup exploits with Chelsea this summer.
