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Ian Maatsen Completes Move To Aston Villa From Chelsea
Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen, has officially signed for Aston Villa, it was announced on Friday.
The 22-year-old versatile defender impressed on loan at Borussia Dortmund last season as the Bundesliga side reached the UEFA Champions League final.
Ian Maatsen returns to the Premier League after facing challenges with limited playing opportunities at his home club Chelsea towards the end of 2023.
Aston Villa has officially announced the acquisition of Ian Maatsen from Chelsea, securing the left-back on a permanent deal.
Maatsen’s transfer to Villa Park involves a rumored fee exceeding his previous £35 million release clause, which was only available to Borussia Dortmund.
Even though he ended up on the losing side at Wembley against Real Madrid, Maatsen received widespread praise for his under former Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic, having started 22 out of 23 games across all competitions.
The defender also impressed on loan at title-winning Burnley the season before, being named in the Championship Team of the Season for 2022/23.
However, when he rejoined his parent club Chelsea at the beginning of the last season, he struggled to secure playing time, managing only one start in the Premier League before heading to Germany.
In January, his contract with the London club was extended until the summer of 2026. This came five months after the young player turned down Burnley’s obligation-to-buy offer.
Despite featuring in 17 matches for the Netherlands U21 team, Maatsen was left out of Ronald Koeman’s preliminary squad for Euro 2024.
After the injured Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners were sidelined, the full-back was called back to the squad and has the opportunity to earn his first senior cap in Germany this summer.
Maatsen was on the bench but did not play as the Netherlands staged a comeback to defeat Poland 2-1 in their first Group D fixture.
Born in Vlaardingen in the Netherlands, Maatsen started his career at the academies of Feyenoord, and Sparta Rotterdam before being signed by Chelsea from PSV in 2018.
Borussia Dortmund were keen on signing the defender on a permanent deal after his successful loan spell with them last season. They made offers but fell short of the original release clause.
