Looking to land a deal, Aston Villa are reportedly now in daily contact with the representatives of one particular target who received a late call-up to Euro 2024 recently.
Aston Villa transfer news
Those at Villa Park will be hoping for some good news on the transfer front sooner rather than later amid reports that Douglas Luiz is heading for the exit door to join Juventus. And whilst Villa will reportedly receive Weston McKennie and Samuel Iling-Junior in a swap deal, replacing Luiz’s quality will be incredibly difficult for Unai Emery.
Avoiding a profit and sustainability charge as a result, however, Villa may now be able to turn their attention towards strengthening Emery’s squad this summer, as they look to cause a few upsets in the Champions League. Already, on that front, the Villans have been linked with Tammy Abraham, who previously starred on loan and has since enjoyed a spell at AS Roma. Now, he could make a permanent return to England and to the Midlands to boost Emery’s attacking options.
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He’s not the only one who could be on the move to the Midlands either. According to Wayne Veysey of Football Insider, Aston Villa are now in daily contact with Ian Maatsen and his representatives as they look to land a deal. The Chelsea left-back, who enjoyed a headline-stealing loan spell at Borussia Dortmund in the second half of the season, reportedly has a £35m release clause which is proving to be a stumbling block in negotiations.
Chelsea are reportedly willing to sell Maatsen though, and whilst a deal is not close, their daily contact with Maatsen’s representatives certainly suggests that this is one that Villa are keen on as they look to put together a squad capable of making it back-to-back top-four finishes in the Premier League.
“Fantastic” Maatsen could displace Digne
After playing his way into the Champions League Team of the Season, there’s no doubt that Maatsen deserves to be starting in a side of that level every week, meaning that a move away from Chelsea should be on the cards this summer. The Dutchman will hope to take that form into the Euros and then perhaps to Aston Villa, where he would displace Lucas Digne.
|
League stats 23/24 (via FBref) |
Ian Maatsen |
Lucas Digne |
|---|---|---|
|
Starts |
16 |
27 |
|
Assists |
2 |
3 |
|
Progressive Carries |
50 |
42 |
|
Ball Recoveries Per 90 |
5.49 |
3.77 |
The Chelsea man would hand Emery a more attacking dynamic down the left-hand side, particularly when it comes to driving with the ball and recovering possession away from it. Then having an experienced option like Digne as a back-up would represent a squad on the up at Villa Park.
Unsurprisingly, Maatsen earned plenty of praise during his time at Dortmund, including from Football Talent Scout’s Jacek Kulig, who described the left-back as “fantastic” on X.
Still just 22 years old, Villa could be getting a player ready to step into the left-back role for years to come, though only time will tell whether they reach an agreement with Chelsea.
