Breaking News: Man City could sign £35m star who is tagged “the Haaland replacement”
The 2024/25 season holds real promise for Chelsea following a brilliant end to last season which saw the Blues secure European Football despite losing 11 of their 38 Premier League matches.
Mauricio Pochettino led the Blues to five consecutive wins during the closing weeks of the campaign to secure a sixth-placed finish, but it wasn’t enough for the Argentinian to keep his job.
The club parted ways with the former PSG boss, appointing Enzo Maresca as the club’s new manager, looking to build on Pochettino’s work with all the Blues’ new additions.
The Italian has huge expectations on his shoulders to transform the club and take them back to a title race, aiming to claim their first Premier League title since the 2016/17 campaign.
However, the new manager will have a lot of big decisions to make on the future of numerous first-team members, but he simply can’t afford to let go of one talent who excelled away from Stamford Bridge last season.
The latest on Ian Maatsen’s future at Chelsea
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen is attracting interest from Aston Villa and Manchester City after his impressive loan stint at Borussia Dortmund last term.
The 22-year-old, who featured in the Champions League final, impressed during his temporary stint in the Bundesliga, scoring two goals and providing two assists in his 16 appearances for the German side.
The report from Bailey also states that the Dutchman has a £35m release clause in his contract, with Chelsea potentially looking to make a hefty profit on the full-back to boost their FFP status.
However, whilst it may seem a good deal to receive a hefty sum for a player with just 15 appearances for Chelsea’s first-team, Maresca can’t afford to let go of Maatsen, with the talent potentially following in the footsteps of one player who’s excelled since leaving the club.
Another Havertz situation for Chelsea
Last summer, the Blues agreed to sell midfielder Kai Havertz to rivals Arsenal for a reported £60m in an effort to boost their financial situation after a huge influx of incomings at Stamford Bridge.
However, since his departure, the former Bayer Leverkusen talent has excelled under the guidance of Mikel Arteta, leaving Chelsea with a scenario of what could have been for the German had he remained with the Blues.
He’s excelled in a false nine role during the 2023/24 campaign at the Emirates, scoring 13 times in the Premier League, whilst also providing seven assists as Arsenal came within touching distance of winning the title.
| Kai Havertz’s stats for Arsenal in 2023/24 | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | Tally |
| Games | 37 |
| Goals | 13 |
| Assists | 7 |
| Goals + assists per 90 | 0.5 |
| Chances created | 46 |
| Duels won | 197 |
| Stats via FotMob | |
A year on from the deal, the club are presented with another precarious situation with Maatsen, especially considering the interest from another top English club in champions Manchester City.
Maresca already has Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella in the left-back area, but given his temporary stint at Dortmund, Maatsen has showcased his talents on the biggest of stages, also having the potential to improve down the line.
The “exceptional” youngster, as dubbed by former Coventry City teammate Simon Moore, will want consistent first-team minutes to be able to reach his full potential, with Maresca needing to make a bold call in keeping the Dutchman, making him his first-choice on the left-hand side.
The club have become too synonymous with offloading young talents too soon, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah both going on to thrive in the Premier League.
Maatsen is potentially next on the list should the club decide to part ways with him this summer, but, Maresca can buck the trend this window, handing the youngster the opportunity to thrive at Stamford Bridge and cementing himself as a key player under the new management team.
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Ian Wright criticises ‘anonymous’ England star after nervy Euro 2024 opener
Ian Wright criticised ‘anonymous’ Phil Foden after England’s nervy opening Euro 2024 win over Serbia.
The Three Lions made hard work of their opening Euros fixture but still managed to clinch three crucial points in Group C courtesy of Jude Bellingham’s early goal.
England made a bright start to the match in Gelsenkirchen and looked on course for a comfortable evening after Bellingham headed home Bukayo Saka’s deflected cross on 13 minutes.
Gareth Southgate’s side continued to impress for the rest of the first half but lost control of their Euros opener after the break, with Serbia threatening to equalise.
England held firm to take an early lead in Group C but pundits and fans were left somewhat underwhelmed by the performance from one of the Euro 2024 favourites.
Wright was pleased England made a winning start to the tournament in Germany but singled out Manchester City star Foden for criticism.
Foden enjoyed a sensational season for Man City, helping Pep Guardiola’s side win a fourth successive title and taking home the Premier League player of the season award.
But Wright says the 24-year-old struggled to ‘get into the game’ against Serbia and was ‘anonymous’ for much of the match.
‘I don’t think Phil Foden played well today, he didn’t get into it,’ the ex-England and Arsenal striker said on the Wrighty’s House podcast.
‘People talk about Foden and his positions, I can understand that because of how good he is as a footballer, but he didn’t get into the game today.
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‘He doesn’t play a free role for Manchester City. Given the team he plays for and the calibre of players he plays with, I don’t think he should be as anonymous as he was today.
‘We can’t question his ability because what he’s showed us at Man City, but what you look at now… the elite players find it.
‘I think it comes down to a mental thing now where he has to think if it’s not happening for him, he has to go find it. If you’ve got that much ability but you’re so anonymous, what’s wrong?
‘We can’t always blame the system. He needs to make it happen for himself and demand the ball.’
England will look to improve in their final two group games against Denmark and Slovenia as they attempt to win their first major trophy since 1966.
Speaking after England’s opening win, Southgate said he expected a tough encounter against Serbia while reserving special praise for Bellingham.
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