Exclusive: Man City now eyeing move to sign £35m Chelsea player, they scouted him this week

02/05/2024 13:15

• EXCLUSIVE from Graeme Bailey

TBR Football understands that Manchester City were one of the teams in Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday watching Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen.

The Chelsea left-back is on loan at Dortmund until the summer after joining in January. Dortmund are determined to keep Ian Maatsen, as well as Jadon Sancho, as a matter of priority but they were not able to put an option in place.

Maatsen signed an extension to 2026 with Chelsea but that included a £35million release clause and it will almost certainly be met. Dortmund hope and believe the fact Maatsen has performed so well for them, that he will make it clear they are the club he wants to join.

However, whilst Dortmund have been delighted with Maatsen’s form – that has inevitably seen him emerge on the radar of other clubs, including Manchester City.

Man City have scouted Chelsea's Maatsen

TBR understands one of the teams who have been following his progress is City – and they are considering a new left-back this summer and Maatsen is someone they are doing their work on, hence they had scouts at the Signal Iduna Park.

As well as City, Bayern Munich are confirmed admirers of Maatsen – although their interest in him is tied to Real Madrid’s move for Alphonso Davies. Talks over the Canadian have stalled and Madrid could wait until 2025 to land him on a free transfer – meaning Bayern may not have a need for Maatsen this summer.

TBR is also told that Aston Villa were also at the game and they have indeed been making checks on Maatsen in recent weeks as they plan for a likely Champions League campaign next season.

City are also ready to move for Joshua Kimmich this summer, with Bayern’s choice of a new head coach set to be vital in Kimmich's decision over his future.

Maatsen's stats vs PSG

The Chelsea loanee has impressed in Germany since his January switch from west London.

Maatsen was struggling for regular minutes under Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea beforehand, managing just one start in the Premier League this season.

The 22-year-old played the full 90 minutes last night as Dortmund picked up a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. 

According to Sofascore, he was Dortmund's second-highest-rated player on the night, behind star man Sancho.

• 90 minutes played
• 4 clearances
• 2 tackles
• 5/11 ground duels won
• 37/41 passes completed
• 1 key pass
• 1 big chance created

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