Yesterday we reported on the potentially exciting news that Chelsea had found another suitor in the chase for their left back, Ian Maatsen. He’s on loan at Dortmund, doing well, and now it seems that Bayern Munich have joined the race to sign him.
That’s what well-connected German insider Florian Plettenberg was saying, anyway. Fabrizio Romano isn’t as convinced. Writing in his exclusive column for Caughtoffside, Romano made it clear that any deal was a long way off:
“I’m aware there have been rumours about Bayern Munich eyeing Ian Maatsen as a possible replacement for Alphonso Davies at left-back,” Romano wrote in today’s column for the site.
“As things stand, I’m not aware of contacts for Maatsen at this stage. Bayern are looking at full-backs for sure, but there are many names every day linked with Bayern… nothing is concrete in terms of contacts for Maatsen. Of course they are monitoring the market as they prepare for the possibility of life without Davies.
“For sure there’s a chance for many clubs if they want to sign Maatsen as he’s on a straight loan to Dortmund and his deal includes a £35m release clause, rather than a purchase clause specific to Dortmund. Anyone can trigger that clause, so let’s see what happens, but there’s nothing concrete happening now.”
Romano is clearly not happy that Plettenberg scooped his scoop. But there’s plenty of time for this story to develop. As the insider said, it’s all going to depend on Alphonso Davies’ decision anyway, so Chelsea fans shouldn’t start expecting a big sale until it’s confirmed that the Canada star is on the move anyway.