With Mauricio Pochettino gone and Enzo Maresca chosen but not yet announced, everything has gone a little quiet in Chelsea world as we all await the managerial change that allows us to move forward.
That’s not stopping the sporting directors working behind the scenes though – this is a critical moment for them as they race to balance the books for this season before the June 30th accounting cut off. One of the juiciest sales they have lined up is of Ian Maatsen to Borussia Dortmund. He’s done really well there on loan, and with the German club making the Champions League final with him in the team, they can hardly deny his value.
They play that game on Saturday, and the moment it’s over they will be negotiating with Chelsea to secure Maatsen long term, according to Fabrizio Romano.
He’s Tweeted today that the German side will approach Chelsea with an opening proposal lower than the £35m we want for the Dutchman. We’re not sure why. He’s done really well and it feels likely that we would demand less than we did back in January when we inserted that clause into his new deal – a clause any team can pay, not just Dortmund.
🟡⚫️ Borussia Dortmund will approach Chelsea after the UCL final to negotiate for Ian Maatsen.
The opening proposal will be under £35m clause value but with different structure.
Maatsen, very happy at Dortmund and among priority targets for BVB. pic.twitter.com/O71EkNUj6D
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 29, 2024
Dortmund will be feeling the heat to sign “priority target”
If they want to offer a “different structure” as Romano says, surely they should be offering over the £35m we want? It doesn’t really add up. If he’s a “priority target” as Romano claims, the money they’re getting from their impressive European run would be well spent on him.
The pressure on them created by other clubs being interested should bring a timely offer, and that should in turn give Chelsea a great chance of wrapping the deal up before July and the new league season’s arrival.
