Aston Villa have officially announced the signing of Ian Maatsen from Chelsea, as we have landed our first marquee addition this summer.
The 22-year-old joined Chelsea in 2018 at youth level initially before going on to make just 16 appearances for the senior side, having been loaned out on several occasions during that period.
READ MORE: What Jhon Duran said on his future amid Villa doubts
His form for Borussia Dortmund in the second half of last season showcased his quality and potential in particular though, as he scored three goals and provided two assists in 23 outings to go with his defensive work, and proved his potential at the top level.
Having gained vital experience during spells with Burnley, Coventry City and Charlton as well, Maatsen is ready for the next stage of his career, and he will open up that chapter as a Villa player, as per the club’s official statement.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the Dutchman has put pen to paper on a six-year contract, while Villa will pay £37.5m to acquire him, and so it’s a significant investment from the club, and a huge show of faith in Maatsen from Unai Emery.
The Villa boss, in conjunction with Monchi and the recruitment team, will have undoubtedly analysed and assessed their options to strengthen at left-back meticulously, and so they must see Maatsen as the ideal signing to take us to the next level in that department.
It will now raise question marks over the futures of Lucas Digne and Alex Moreno though, as it’s highly unlikely that we’ll go with three senior left-backs in the squad next season, with touted incoming signing Samuel Iling Jr capable of playing there too.
In turn, time will tell if Maatsen’s arrival ultimately sparks an exit for one of the current options in that role, but it’s an exciting addition to the squad, and one that will hopefully provide us with quality, consistency, reliability and will prove to be an ideal fit for Emery’s style of play and structure.
Maatsen does arguably possess all the natural attributes that the Basque coach is looking for with his technical quality, athleticism and ability to offer something in both phases of the game, and so it will be fascinating to see how far he can take him by coaching him up and developing his game further.
We may have signed a decent defender but Watkins can’t be expected to play 60 od games without some cover so it looks like another window without a striker which won’t help our cause. And it’s pretty disappointing and will come back to bite us without doubt
Long way to go in the transfer window still, I’m sure that’s on the to-do list, particularly if we’re able to move Duran on. Hopefully still 2-3 more key signings to come next month.