The talk of the Chelsea fan base at the moment is the 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Boxing Day and the fact Noni Madueke was left out of the squad.

A "technical decision" Enzo Maresca described it as after the game with the England international being left out of the 20-man squad at Stamford Bridge. It comes less than a month after Maresca criticised Madueke's training level in a press conference after he was omitted from the squad that beat Aston Villa in west London.

So, what next for Madueke? Plenty of Chelsea supporters feel as if the 22-year-old has been harshly treated, while some are backing the head coach after he made what was a big and rather surprising decision at the time.

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Below, football.london's Chelsea contingent discuss and debate the Madueke situation. Let us know what you think about this fascinating situation in the comments section below...

Bobby Vincent

I can see both sides of the argument. Some feel as if having Madueke on the bench would have made sense on Boxing Day given the options available but equally, Maresca is paid to make these decisions. As brutal as they may seem at times, it is ultimately his job and you have to trust him.

What Maresca has done in an almost-six-month-period with the west London club is very, very impressive and he has almost earned trust in that time. That does not mean he is immune to criticism because nobody is - no matter what you have achieved in football.

Ultimately, though, we do not see what goes on behind the scenes, unfortunately. Also, Renato Veiga was left out of the squad but nobody seemed to bat an eyelid at that. It is more because Madueke is a higher profile name than Veiga that there seems to be more discourse at the omission.

Also, with the comments Maresca made earlier in December about the winger's training level, people jump to the assumption that it was a similar reason why the Italian left the England international out against Fulham. But as I mentioned, we ultimately do not know the reason. Maresca did not want to go into too much detail about it.

If Madueke, as expected at this point, is back in the squad against Ipswich then I think that this conversation is as good as done. Maresca, Madueke and Chelsea as a whole will not want this situation to become something more than it currently is.

Tom Coley

Madueke's penalty spat with Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson earlier this year has felt a long way off for much of this season. His recent absence from the starting XI on matchdays as well as being slowly dropped down to a substitute for much of December brings back echoes of that moment.

Maresca's claim that this is a technical decision, whilst also stating that his team need high standards, is similar to the way Ruben Amorim is talking about Marcus Rashford. It isn't a good sign. There has been an undercurrent of questions around Madueke's attitude for much of his time at Chelsea and now both Maresca and Mauricio Pochettino have alluded to it.

There is talent there, for sure, but it doesn't yet manifest itself regularly enough or consistently. They both appear to think it is an application and mentality problem.

For Maresca, who has had to deal with his fair share of off-field issues already since joining Chelsea, it is a big call to leave out Madueke regardless. We will see moving forward just how much of an impact or a wakeup call this might be for the winger.

More details are sure to emerge either way. Maresca will hope that it can come after a positive reintegration into the team rather than be clouded by negativity and speculation. The fact that he was actively willing to damage the chances of winning a game by leaving Madueke out - because he is surely a better option on the right than Pedro Neto currently - says a lot, though.

If there really are deeper issues with Madueke's focus, effort, and drive then Maresca keeping them quiet but punishing him is a strong and bold move. Chelsea are better with him available.

Joe Doyle

I think for Noni Madueke it's simple: if the reason you were left out is a "technical decision", make it technically impossible for the manager to leave you out of the next one.

If you get to the top level you have to have the belief that you can improve on what your competition does, and neither Jadon Sancho or Pedro Neto impressed in an attacking sense against Fulham. Madueke has to show in training and in his preparation around games that it would be a silly decision to leave him out in the future.

Put it this way: I don't think Cole Palmer is going to be left out of a Premier League squad for a "technical decision" any time soon - it's because he has quickly become the club's most reliable attacking talent.

Maresca did say that Madueke's effort levels were not a problem last time he was left out of a squad, and so it shouldn't be an issue this time around.

I think it's probably a good power move from the manager's point of view: 'either the player proves me wrong and puts in some great performances over the next few weeks, or we know where he stands for the rest of the season and his future at the club'.

It will just take some time to see whether he gets the desired result.