Unai Emery’s Aston Villa are all set to complete the signing of Chelsea defensive sensation Ian Maatsen in a deal worth £37.5 million.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Aston Villa are close to acquiring the services of Ian Maatsen as they have reached an agreement with Chelsea for the transfer of their academy graduate. The West Midlands club will pay £37.5 million for the young full-back, who had an exceptional loan spell at Borussia Dortmund.
Maatsen was promoted to the Chelsea first team last summer. However, he did not get much game time at the London club in the first half of the 2023/24 season. As a result, they ended up sending the Dutchman out on loan to the German club for the remainder of the campaign.
In his short stay at Borussia Dortmund, the Chelsea graduate made quite a name for himself. He was involved in 23 matches and contributed towards five goals. The 22-year-old played a big part in their sensational Champions League run.
While the Bundesliga club were interested in signing Ian Maatsen and had an option to buy worth £35 million, they decided against it because of financial reasons. With Dortmund taking a back seat, other interest clubs started working on a potential deal.
Aston Villa sign Maatsen?
Aston Villa are one of the clubs who have been pushing hard for the Dutch full-backs’s services. Unai Emery is keen on bolstering his squad after helping them secure Champions League football last time out. He wants an upgrade at left-back; the Spanish manager wants a more attacking option and Maatsen seems to be a perfect fit.
Aston Villa have been in talks with the Blues for a while now, and they have managed to reach an agreement. Emery’s team are all set to pay £37.5 million to sign the young full-back. More importantly, all parties want the deal to be sealed by this week.
Aston Villa had already initiated talks with the player’s camp regarding personal terms. They had offered a six-year deal, and David Ornstein has indeed confirmed that personal terms are now in place over a deal that will run until 2030. With almost everything sorted, Ian Maatsen is expected to be seen in the colours of Aston Villa starting next season, ending his association with Chelsea.
