Chelsea to sell 21-year-old for £35m, confident someone will sign him
Chelsea recently allowed Ian Maatsen to join Borussia Dortmund on loan for the rest of the season.
It may only be a temporary move, but it looks like Ian Maatsen has played his last game for Chelsea.
According to The Telegraph, the defender has a £35m release clause in his new contract, which he signed just before joining Dortmund on loan, and the Blues are confident that it will be met in the summer.
Maatsen saw little game time at Stamford Bridge this season, hence his move to Signal Iduna Park.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, the left-back made just one start in the Premier League.
Chelsea confident Ian Maatsen’s £35m release clause will be met
One club will definitely trigger Maatsen’s release clause, especially if he goes on to have a successful loan spell at Dortmund. Perhaps the German club themselves will.
The 21-year-old is a young and talented player who can be used in multiple positions.
This season, Maatsen has already played at left-back, left wing and right wing, showing his versatility.
According to the Evening Standard, Burnley were also willing to sign the Dutchman permanently for £31.5m at the end of a loan spell last summer. If that is how much a newly-promoted Premier League club valued Maatsen at before he had even kicked a ball in a top European division, then Chelsea really should have no problem getting £35m for him.
A serious injury at Dortmund is probably the only thing that would prevent teams going after the Netherlands U21 international in the summer.
With Maatsen gone, at least for now, Levi Colwill, Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella are Pochettino’s main three left-back options.
Chilwell has just returned from injury and ESPN pundit Steve Nicol praised the impact he made in Chelsea’s 1-0 win against Fulham over the weekend.