Ian Maatsen will face Chelsea for the first time since leaving the club over the summer as he visits Stamford Bridge along with his new side Aston Villa on Sunday in the Premier League. Nearly five months on from his exit, the 22-year-old is yet to cement a place under Unai Emery.
Initially signed by Chelsea in 2018 from PSV Eindhoven – where he was in the academy setup and never played a senior game – Maatsen went on to impress throughout his time at Cobham. He is now also knocking on the door of getting into the Dutch national team and was called up for a squad spot at Euro 2024 after being picked as a late injury replacement.
Despite this progress, which follows an impressive year to date for the versatile defender, Maatsen has only started one league game for Villa, which came last weekend in a 2-2 draw to Crystal Palace. He did start both Carabao Cup matches but failed to make a massive statement as Villa narrowly beat League One Wycombe and then crashed out to Palace in the fourth round.
He was also dropped by Ronald Koeman for the Netherlands, dropping down to the Under-21s. “A bit disappointing, but I’m here now,” he said of the decision in September. “I just have to do my best to be back with the big Oranje as soon as possible.”
He also admitted that there had been no contact from Koeman over why. It means it hasn’t been the ideal way to kick on after being signed for over £40million in July.
A parallel deal between Chelsea and Villa worth £19million saw Villa prospect Omari Kellyman go the other way. He is yet to play for the Chelsea first team and has suffered injury issues keeping him out of the Under-21 side as well. The 19-year-old is expected to go on loan in January.
For Maatsen, the failure to truly breakthrough under Emery has slowed his progress after helping Borussia Dortmund reach an unlikely Champions League final whilst on loan in the second half of last season. He started the final but was cruelly punished for two late mistakes as Real Madrid went on to lift the trophy at Wembley.
Nevertheless, Maatsen relished the chance to get going at Villa having struggled to gain the full trust of Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea. “It’s an honour,” he said on his arrival in the Midlands. “I’ve been waiting for this moment because I’ve been at the Euros. Now I’m finally here it feels official, so I can’t wait to get started.
“You see the boys training on the social media accounts and you’re just thinking, ‘I want to go back and get to know all the lads and get started.'” He added: “Last season the team did very well. The coach is a brilliant coach with lots of experience all over Europe. The club is also playing Champions League this year, which is exciting.”
Unlike Chelsea, who are competing in the Conference League after being beaten to fourth spot by Villa and then Tottenham – knocked back from the Europa League by Manchester United winning the FA Cup – Villa are at the top table of club football this season. They have hit a rough patch heading into December, though, and have only won one of their last five in the league.
For Villa and Maatsen, the goal is still the same having come from nowhere to challenge the elite in the division. “It’s a challenge for me to come here and show people that I’m capable of doing those things on the highest level,” he said over the summer.
“I just can’t wait to get started and get on the field and enjoy everything. I’m an exciting player and I love to play football. I enjoy tackles and I like to get the crowd going.” As for his new manager? “He’s [Emery] a manager that loves to be playing football and winning trophies.”
Things haven’t been as he had hoped so far, though. “Of course, it’s a bit difficult [not to start],” he has admitted. “But there will be opportunities. And I have to be ready to make an impact and today [against Wolves] I did that to help my teammates. Maybe next time is my time. I just have to be ready.
“Every time I have to be ready. I work hard. And we push each other. Today it was my turn to come on and make an impact. Maybe next week, it’s the other way around. I’m just happy to get minutes. It’s still a process.
“I’m happy to be at Villa. There’s a lot to learn. I’m easy. I’m composed. I’m just trying to do my best. Every minute show the quality I have.
“There are a lot of games. So everyone who starts or comes off the bench, there’s a lot of fresh energy off the bench. We need to be ready and give our best.”
Villa now enter the game on Sunday with Chelsea three points adrift of Enzo Maresca’s side. They have a settled defence with Marc Cucurella at right-back.
Maatsen had already made significant movement towards an exit by the time the Italian was appointed, though. With Pochettino favouring Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill at full-back, there were limited opportunities at Chelsea, who had tried to sell him in the summer of 2023.
A bid from Burnley worth £30million was accepted after he helped Vincent Kompany’s men gain promotion to the Premier League but Maatsen wanted to stay at fight for his place. Six months later he was on his way to Dortmund after hardly getting a look in. A return to west London never seemed likely to follow.
