Fabrizio Romano reveals Chelsea have told Ian Maatsen to ink long-term contract
Fabrizio Romano has reported that Chelsea have asked Ian Maatsen to sign a long-term contract after the club pushed him to join Burnley on deadline day.
The Blues agreed a £31 million fee with the newly promoted side Burnley, but Maatsen was reluctant to leave the club. However, now the Blues will make a decision on his future if he fails to sign a new contract.
The 21-year-old Dutch left-back has been played out of position under Mauricio Pochettino in a more attacking role, and Chelsea already have Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella as fullback options.
Maatsen returned to the club after a season-long loan spell from Burnley, where he helped the club get promoted to the Premier League. Burnley were expecting to get the left-back on another season-long loan period with an obligation to buy after Chelsea accepted their bid. Still, the player’s decision to remain at the club ceased their hopes.
The Blues also loaned Lewis Hall to Newcastle United for an entire season with a provision to buy. It was anticipated that Cucurella would also leave on loan to Manchester United, but the deal never transpired.
Now the Blues have ample depth at left back, though Maatsen has yet to start as left back as Pochettino has used Chilwell as a left wing-back. Cucurella has yet to start in the Premier League for the West Londoners and it seems that he is quite low in Poch’s pecking order, given he was on the verge of joining Manchester United this summer.
The 21-year-old seems to have impressed Pochettino in pre-season, and he will certainly feel he can fight for his place. Keeping will also prove good for us given Cucurella has been out of form and we never know if Chilwell, who has been playing as a wing-back, might encounter an injury.
Hence, having Maatsen gives us good depth. It was certainly very weird if Chelsea wanted him to leave on deadline day but now want him to stay long-term. Were we ready to sacrifice a player we value so much (that we want him to sign a new long-term deal) over short-term profit? If so, that is worrying from the club.
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Fans would wonder how many such valued players we allowed to leave this summer just to rake in funds for other transfers. Hopefully, transfer windows that follow under Todd Boehly and co. are not as scattered and hectic, and have a bit more structure and planning behind it.