Ian Maatsen, a full-back for Chelsea who is still struggling to earn a spot in the starting lineup at Stamford Bridge, has caught the attention of Barcelona.
The 21-year-old has been with the Blues since 2018, although he has played three seasons on loan at Coventry, Burnley, and Charlton, where he excelled during the Clarets’ Championship promotion.
Despite Chelsea accepting their offer and the Clarets wanting to hang onto him for the duration of their Premier League campaign, the Dutchman turned down the transfer in an effort to show his worth in west London.
Although Maatsen has played for Mauricio Pochettino this season—six Premier League substitutions and two starts in the League Cup—he has not been as involved as he would have liked.
There is a lot of competition between left backs in Pochettino’s squad, and Maatsen struggles to outrun players like Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, and Ben Chilwell.
The Spanish daily Sport claims that Barcelona is aware of Maatsen’s situation. The Chelsea Blues will be keen to offload him the following season because his Chelsea contract expires in 2025.
Maatsen’s first call-up to the most recent Netherlands team came from Ronald Koeman, proving he hasn’t been forgotten on the international front.
Although he did not earn his first cap in any of the matches against France or Greece, his involvement will have inspired him, and if the Netherlands qualify, he hopes to be chosen for Euro 2024 next summer.
With Virgil van Dijk’s late penalty sealing the 1-0 victory over Greece on Monday, Koeman’s team is well-positioned to qualify—that is, if they don’t lose badly to Gibraltar or the Republic of Ireland.
