A Burnley academy graduate who was on the verge of leaving at the end of the summer is now free after Mauricio Pochettino was not persuaded
Ian Maatsen, a defender for Chelsea, and Borussia Dortmund have discussed a January transfer.
Despite the club’s chronic injury issue, the 21-year-old has only started one Premier League game this season, and he is losing the fight to convince Chelsea of his long-term value.
Maatsen, who has failed to play under Mauricio Pochettino and is nearing the end of his contract, is available for sale at Chelsea.
The Blues accepted a proposal of about £30 million from Burnley on September’s deadline day, but they are now holding out for approximately that amount.
Dortmund, however, is unable to meet that demand and would like to sign Maatsen on a short-term loan in order to stretch out the expense of the transaction.
Chelsea would rather sell outright because they are under pressure to adhere to Premier League profit and sustainability regulations and need to make money on players before they can sign their January targets.
They are willing to put any money made from player sales back into finding a new striker, and Ivan Toney of Brentford and Victor Osimhen of Napoli are two names they have in mind.
Both players would be pricey and difficult to deal with, but if they become available, their entrance would hasten Maatsen’s departure and force Chelsea to lower their asking price.
Since Maatsen is a homegrown player, he is not subject to FIFA’s loan restrictions; yet, Chelsea is not in a rush to let him go due to his versatility when starting from the bench amid a persistent injury issue.
But with Conor Gallagher unwilling to go as a regular starter and backup captain and Trevoh Chalobah still out, the left-back is still the team’s most marketable commodity.
2018 saw Maatsen transfer from PSV, a major Dutch team, to the Chelsea academy.
