Chelsea fans are all screaming the same thing after watching their talent ball out against PSG
01/05/2024 22:09
Chelsea loanee Ian Maatsen is balling out for Borussia Dortmund in a Champions League semi final against PSG right now, and every Chelsea fan on social media is saying the same thing β why on earth are we trying to sell him?
β GREAT defending by the Dutch Maatsen! pic.twitter.com/82QuoHH0zg
β ππ π ππππ (@TheEuropeanLad) May 1, 2024
This isn't a freak incident either. He's been excellent ever since joining Dortmund in January. He couldn't get on the pitch for a Chelsea team struggling in mid table, yet looks one of the best players in a game involving Kylian Mbappe and all the rest.
Ian Maatsen is one hell of a player!pic.twitter.com/3xECkRZbML
β Football Report (@FootballReprt) May 1, 2024
After all those years working his way through the academy and grinding on loan, Maatsen simply wasn't given a fair chance. And if Fabrizio Romano and others are to be believed, he still won't get one. The plan is to sell him this summer, and given how he's been treated, we wouldn't be at all surprised if he's not interested in coming back either.
A major mistake β or two
We've been over all this before, but the fact that he's playing in a game of tonight's magnitude really brings it into perfect focus.
It frustrates me that Ian Maatsen never got a run out at LB at Chelsea.
Annoys me that we have built a squad full of prospects and then sent Lewis Hall and Ian Maatsen away and kept what we kept.
β CarefreeYouth (@CarefreeYouth) May 1, 2024
He showed great ability on loan last season. He then did really well in preseason. We had a whole stage of the season where we had not only our first choice left back but also our second choice left back out injured. Yet Maatsen did not get even a sniff of action.
Maatsen I see the vision⦠pic.twitter.com/fzxghH5Fzv
β SB (@ShowBoat00) May 1, 2024
Forget the blame on the sporting directors (who accepted a Burnley bid for him in August), Mauricio Pochettino has to take a fair chunk of it for not seeing the ability that was right there staring him in the face. Yes it's likely the formation would have had to be tweaked to accommodate Maatsen's size β but don't tell us he's any more of a defensively flawed player than Marc Cucurella.