Aston Villa summer signing Ian Maatsen has now given his first interview since joining from Chelsea.
Aston Villa had spent their biggest fee of the summer so far to sign Ian Maatsen for £37.5 million, although that has now been eclipsed by the £50 million deal for Amadou Onana.
Unai Emery had identified left-back as an area that needed upgrading this summer with Lucas Digne and Alex Moreno both 31 and one of the duo likely to be sold.
That saw Villa swoop to capture the signing of Maatsen who was impressive on loan at Borussia Dortmund for the second half of last season where he reached the Champions League final.
With Villa in the Champions League themselves this season, the arrival of the Netherlands full-back shows the ambition of the club to continue their progression and Maatsen has now revealed the reason behind the move.
Unai Emery behind Ian Maatsen signing for Aston Villa
In Emery, Villa have a manager with enormous pedigree.
The capture of the Spaniard in late 2022 has altered the fortunes of the club dramatically as he took them from a side in real threat of relegation under Steven Gerrard to the Champions League in 18 months.
Maatsen has been impressed by what he has seen and revealed the 52-year-old was one of the main factors behind his move to Villa Park.
In his first interview since arriving, Maatsen revealed to the official Villa website: “I think last season they did very well. I think the coach, obviously is brilliant, he’s a brilliant coach, a lot of experience in Europe. We play Champions League this year so it’s exciting.”
The interviewer then asked: “You touched on Unai Emery there, was he a big factor in you deciding to join the club, and what has he said to you since you signed?”
To which Maatsen responded: “Yeah of course, I think he’s a manager who loves playing [good] football and winning trophies. So that was the challenge for me, to come here and show the people that I am capable of doing them things at the highest level.
“That’s why I’m really excited to come in.”
Emery gives Aston Villa real transfer pull
Maatsen citing Emery as a reason for his decision to join Villa is no surprise given how well he was performed across his managerial career.
A four-time Europa League winner who has also managed Arsenal and PSG, Emery is incredibly highly-regarded on the continent and has now earned his flowers in England after a difficult Arsenal spell.
Maatsen’s capture is evidence of the transfer pull that Emery has given the club, with links to the likes of Joao Felix and Denzel Dumfries just two examples of players who simply would not have been considered realistic for the club before his arrival.
Villa’s summer business is far from over and there could be one or two more really marquee arrivals ahead of the 2024/25 season.
