Chelsea’s academy is one of the best and recently the most fruitful in Europe, and according to reports, Borussia Dortmund are interested in signing left-back talent Ian Maatsen.
According to Bild as cited by Spox, the Bundesliga giants are keen on signing a defender from Chelsea’s academy to add to their own ranks, with Maatsen the clear favourite to make the move to Germany if negotiations go well.
With the Netherlands’ youngster thriving on loan with Coventry City this season and even winning the club’s Young Player of the Year award, it makes sense why Dortmund are now interested in Maatsen.
However, Chelsea letting the defender go would be another example of the west London side letting go of a talented youngster way too soon, and here are five more players who the Blues allowed to leave before hitting their prime.
Jeremie Boga
Joining Chelsea at 11-years-old from Marseille, Jeremie Boga was viewed as a talent with the potential to become a star for the Blues, with the winger even making a sole appearance in the Premier League in 2018.
However, after three loans in the Championship, Ligue 1 and La Liga, Sassuolo made the move to sign Boga for good in the summer of 2018, and since then, the Ivory Coast international has established himself as one of Serie A’s most entertaining wingers, with the 25-year-old set to join Atalanta in the summer.
Tariq Lamptey
One of the many youngsters to make their debuts for Chelsea under Frank Lampard, Tariq Lamptey looked like lightning in a bottle for the Blues when making his first appearance off the bench for the club against Arsenal.
Despite making further appearances in the senior team, Lamptey was sold to Brighton just a few weeks later at the end of the January transfer window for a reported £3m, with the right-back now one of the most highly-rated fullbacks in the Premier League and believed to be valued at around £50m.
Fikayo Tomori
Fikayo Tomori’s Chelsea career was an interesting one, to say the least, and when the defender moved to AC Milan in January 2021, not many expected the England international to flourish as much as he has.
The beating heart of the Rossoneri defence and a key reason behind Milan’s pending Serie A title win, their first in over a decade, Tomori made a genius career move swapping England for Italy 18 months ago, with the defender one of the best in his position in the division and likely to remain with the club for many years to come.
Tino Livramento
After being named Chelsea’s Academy Player of the Year last season, big things were expected for Tino Livramento, who earned comparisons to the likes of Cafu during his incredible campaign in the U-23s.
Yet after failing to sign a new contract with Chelsea, the right-back last summer moved to Southampton, where Livramento has established himself as one of the most exciting defenders in the Premier League and as one of the youngest players in the top flight to be playing regular football.
Tammy Abraham
Selling Tammy Abraham to sign Romelu Lukaku seemed like a straightforward move last summer, yet with the England international having the season of his career at AS Roma and now being valued at £100m, the Blues might have dropped the ball a bit with this deal.
With Lukaku also struggling on his return to west London and reports suggesting that Chelsea already want to offload the striker, Thomas Tuchel’s side could not have got a transfer more wrong than selling Abraham to sign the Belgian superstar.