Everything you need to know about Ian Maatsen, the Champions League finalist who has become Villa Park.
The 2024 summer has been incredibly exciting at Villa Park faithful. Multiple transfer rumours surrounding the club have been linking many of their stars to and away from the club.
This has seen players such as Ross Barkley rejoin Villa while Douglas Luiz departed for Juventus.
However, one of the biggest new additions of the summer was Maatsen who joined the club from Chelsea
Unai Emery added the impressive defender to the side as they look to prepare for their upcoming Champions League campaign.
In this article, you can find out everything you need to know about the potential new signing, from his position to his major feats in the footballing world.
What is Ian Maatsen’s age and height?
Maatsen was born on March 10, 2002. At the time of writing, this makes him 22 years old. He also stands at 1.78 metres which is five foot 10 inches.
Where was he born?
Maatsen was born in the city of Vlaardingen located in the Netherlands. He is also of Surinamese descent as well as has Indonesian ancestry.
What is Ian Maatsen’s position?
Maatsen’s main position on the pitch is left-back. However, the youngster can also push further up the field and play as a winger.
Ian Maatsen’s career so far
After progressing through multiple academies in the Netherlands, Maatsen signed for Chelsea in 2018. Here, he continued to progress in the academy before he made his competitive debut in September 2019 in a 7-1 victory over Grimsby in the EFL Cup.
Following this, Maatsen was sent out on multiple loans at Charlton, Coventry and Burnley, with the latter resulting in the Clarets’ promotion to the Premier League in 2023.
As a result, at the start of the 2023/24 season, he was in and around the Chelsea first-team before he was sent out on loan to Borussia Dortmund to the end of the season in January 2024.
What are his major feats?
So far, Maatsen has amassed multiple achievements in his career both as a team and individually despite his young age. These are listed below.
Honours
- Championship title – 2022/23
- Champions League runners-up – 2023/24
- European Under 17s Championship – 2019
Individual
- Championship Player of the Month – January 2023
- Championship Team of the Season – 2022/23
- Championship PFA Team of the Season – 2022/23
- Bundesliga Rookie of the Month – January 2024
- Champions League Team of the Season – 2023/24
How good is Ian Maatsen?
Throughout his career, Maatsen’s footballing achievements have not gone unnoticed. It was previously suggested that Man City were looking at the full-back, with Pep Guardiola believed to be a ‘big fan’
At Borussia Dortmund, Maatsen was also highly regarded. Sporting director Sebastian Kehl was full of praise for Maatsen after his debut for the German club debut as he said: “Ian Maatsen was very calm, had a lot of composure in possession, played great football and was constantly involved in our transition play.
“You could sense that he was nervous. You could also see his intelligence. It was a very good decision to play him from the start.”
When did Aston Villa sign Ian Maatsen?
Aston Villa and Chelsea came to an agreement over the transfer of Maatsen to Villa Park in July 2024. The left-back signed a six-year contract at the Birmingham outfit.
How much will he cost?
Borussia Dortmund had the option to sign Maatsen at the end of his loan for £35 million. However, this option was never taken up. As a result, Villa were able to swoop in and agreed a fee with Chelsea believed to be £37.5 million.
