German giants ‘confident’ of signing Chelsea star with ‘great quality’; want initial loan deal

Chelsea fullback Ian Maatsen open to move to Borussia Dortmund

German club Borussia Dortmund are optimistic about signing Chelsea star Ian Maatsen either on loan or permanently this January. Maatsen’s future at Stamford Bridge never looked certain, as the club was open to selling the fullback last summer, but the 21-year-old himself turned down the £31.5 million move to Burnley.

According to the Telegraph (subscription required), (h/t Metro), Dortmund are confident that they will be able to seal the deal with Chelsea as negotiations are already underway.

The Dutch fullback is also open to joining the German club, who are fifth in the Bundesliga and 15 points behind leader Bayer Leverkusen.

The Blues want to offload the Dutch player permanently, but Dortmund hope to take him on loan before making any decisions about the long-term signing of the left-back.

He has not been Mauricio Pochettino’s preferred choice despite the Blues’ constant injuries, and now a move to another club would be sensible for him to get more playing time.

The Argentine manager has himself admitted that Maatsen hasn’t been convincing so far in the season, and it doesn’t make sense to continue at Chelsea if he isn’t getting minutes on the pitch.

Maatsen should go to Dortmund.

A move to Dortmund will be good for Maatsen because the German club is famous for nurturing young players, and we have already seen them turn some young talents into elite players; Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland are already some examples. There he will learn many things, and given the intensity of the league, Maatsen should adjust in no time there.

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He should be guaranteed playing time there because Dortmund only have Ramy Bensebaini as their natural left-back. Dortmund certainly know Maatsen has all that talent to become a top left-back, and the Dutch players should also make a sensible decision to move there because Pochettino has barely used him.