According to reports, Manchester City has joined the fight to recruit Ian Maatsen, a defender for Chelsea, but Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund are also in the running.
The 22-year-old kicked off Borussia Dortmund’s heartbreaking 0-2 loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Final earlier this month at Wembley Stadium. Goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior in the second half sealed the Bundesliga team’s fate.
Maatsen, a Dutch international who moved to Germany on a short-term loan in January with Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho, was one of two Premier League loanees to start the Champions League Final in north London.
Before joining Dortmund, where he played 23 times for Edin Terzić at Signal Iduna Park, the Dutch left-back made 12 Premier League games for Chelsea.
The 22-year-old defender has also played for Charlton, Coventry, and Burnley. In the 2022–2023 season at Turf Moor, he assisted Vincent Kompany’s team in winning promotion to the Premier League.
Maatsen is under contract at Stamford Bridge until 2026, but as a product of the west London club’s academy, he is one of several players Chelsea may want to offload this summer in an effort to avoid breaking the Premier League’s financial regulations.
Borussia Dortmund is presently “struggling” to pay the defender’s £35 million release clause; Manchester City is apparently one of two Premier League teams “interested” in signing the 22-year-old Dutchman, according to publication HITC.
The £35 million price tag is not expected to cause any problems for the Sky Blues, but should Dortmund fail to finalise a deal, Aston Villa may present opposition for the left-back’s signature, giving Etihad managers some competition.
Maatsen is the second Dutch international linked to a summer transfer to Pep Guardiola’s team; should Kyle Walker leave the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City is also interested in re-signing full-back Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen.
