Aston Villa close on £37.5m star
Villa are closing in on the signing of Ian Maatsen from Chelsea after agreeing a fee of around £37.5million.
The 22-year-old left-back, currently part of the Netherlands squad at Euro 2024, is now set to discuss personal terms with Villa prepared to offer a six-year contract.
Maatsen spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund and the German club were keen to make the deal permanent but were unable to match Chelsea's asking price.
That allowed Villa to step in, with the clubs understood to have agreed a fee slightly higher than the £35million release clause.
Should the deal go through, Maatsen would become Villa's second most expensive signing behind record buy Moussa Diaby.
Villa must still off-load players to comply with the Premier Leagues spending rules before the end of the month and proposed deals for Douglas Luiz and Jhon Duran, to join Juventus and Chelsea respectively, remain in the balance.
Luiz’s move to Italy was due to be part of a player-plus-cash agreement involving Weston McKennie but Villa have struggled reach agreement on terms with the US international.
Argentine midfielder Enzo Barranechea is now instead being proposed as part of a deal which would also see forward Samuel Iling-Junior move to Villa, who would also receive a fee of just under £20million from the Italian club.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are reluctant to meet the asking price of £40million for striker Duran and have been exploring alternative attacking options.
The onus is on Villa to move players out before the end of the month as they look to stay within the league’s profit and sustainability rules.
Talks are continuing with Everton over the sale of Tim Iroegbunam, while reports in Italy have claimed right-back Matty Cash is a possible target for Inter Milan.
