Mauricio Pochettino set to axe £31.5m Chelsea star who refused summer transfer

04 January 2024 , 10:12

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Mauricio Pochettino set to axe £31.5m Chelsea star who refused summer transfer

Chelsea are set to offload Ian Maatsen in January despite the young defender finally making his Premier League debut for the club this season.

The 21-year-old is on the verge of joining Borussia Dortmund, just four months after he rejected the chance to leave Stamford Bridge on the final day of the summer transfer window. The transfer will contribute to what is set to be another frantic month for Mauricio Pochettino, with a host of incomings and outgoings again expected at the club.

The Dutch Under-21 international arrived at the London club from PSV in 2018, making his senior debut a year later in an EFL Cup tie against Grimsby. But that failed to prove the springboard to regular football at the Premier League, with a series of loan moves following.

There were season-long spells at Charlton, Coventry City, and Burnley, culminating in him helping the Clarets to win the Championship last season. Keen to keep him on a permanent deal, Vincent Kompany and co tabled a £31.5million bid for him as the summer window drew to a close, only for Maatsen to decline a move.

He's since made 12 Premier League appearance in this campaign, but the majority have come from the bench. And according to The Telegraph, the German side are now in advanced talks to complete a deal.

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It is as yet unclear, however, whether the left-back will initially leave on loan or on a permanent deal. Dortmund reportedly favour a temporary deal for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign, with the Blues preferring to get him off the books as they look to balance their transfer plans with FFP restrictions.

Chelsea defender Ian Maatsen could be sold in January (Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images)

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Maatsen is also said to be open to the prospect of a move, after his manager insinuated last month the player remained some way off a place in his strongest XI. Despite the club activating a clause to extend his contract to 2025, Pochettino said: "Young players sometimes they can impress you in pre-season but you need to give them time after to relax. Sometimes they struggle.

"He’s in our squad and a great kid. He’s got great quality and can play in different positions but it’s about giving him time. he came from Burnley last season in the Championship. To perform at Chelsea, with all respect, is not the same and the competition is different."

In the absence of Ben Chilwell through injury, Levi Colwill has become the regular left-back for the Blues. The 20-year-old was also the subject of summer speculation after a loan spell at Brighton, but a move across London didn't materialise.

Fraser Watson