There were a few eyebrows raised when Chelsea cashed in on Ian Maatsen last summer, but the deal makes a bit more sense when you reflect on it now.
Chelsea sold Ian Maatsen to Premier League rivals Aston Villa before the start of the season in a £35m deal (BBC). Despite the sizeable transfer price, the 22-year-old’s struggled for regular minutes under Unai Emery.
Maatsen’s played 22 games across all competitions in the first half of the season for Villa, but that doesn’t highlight the fact he’s only started twice in the Premier League. The Dutch full-back, who was on Chelsea’s books from 2018-2024, is stuck behind Villa defender Lucas Digne in the pecking order.
Chelsea should reflect on Maatsen’s £35m sale as a decent bit of business when they see him struggling for minutes, especially as he wouldn’t get in ahead of Marc Cucurella in the Blues XI.
Chelsea could repeat Ian Maatsen trick with Carney Chukwuemeka
One of the reasons that Maatsen was such an attractive transfer target last summer was that he was coming off the back of a magical short-term loan spell at Borussia Dortmund in the second half of the 2023/24 season.
Maatsen enjoyed an incredible half a season with Dortmund, even playing in a Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid after an incredible run in Europe. It must’ve helped Chelsea’s positioning when it came to negotiating his sale.
It looks like the Blues could end up repeating the same clever trick with Carney Chukwuemeka in 2025.
Dortmund are now interested in signing Chelsea’s Chukwuemeka as they eye a move for the 21-year-old star in this January window. Apparently, the German club wouldn’t be able to afford his release clause, but the midfielder could be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge on loan.
Chelsea want up to £45m for Chukwuemeka’s sale, which feels unreasonable given he’s only made five first-team appearances this season. The box-to-box midfielder has so much untapped talent that someone needs to unlock, though.
If the English youngster joins Dortmund on loan and does well in the second half of the season, that’ll surely help raise his profile and valuation ahead of the summer.
Chukwuemeka’s situation could have so many similarities to the Maatsen scenario because we’d predict some big offers if he can prove himself in the next six months. Dortmund may be the perfect place to do that given their history in developing young talents, too.
Carney Chukwuemeka could be part of Marc Guehi transfer
While we like the idea of Chukwuemeka joining Dortmund on loan in this winter window, there’s speculation that suggests Chelsea may want to include him in a different transfer deal.
Chelsea may offer Chukwuemeka to Palace as they line up a move for Eagle defender Marc Guehi. There’s a lot of rumours linking the Blues with a move for Palace and England centre-half Guehi, so they could attempt to use Chukwuemeka in the negotiations.
It’s quite obvious that Chukwuemeka’s not getting much of a look-in in the squad. Regardless of where he goes, the English talent needs to ensure he goes somewhere he can play regular football for the rest of the season.
Todd Boehly described Chukwuemeka as “one of the most exciting young players in Europe” when he signed for the club in 2022, as quoted by Chelsea’s official website. He’s not been able to kick on and progress like everyone hoped, though.
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