One Chelsea player may need a bit of convincing to join another club this summer.
There will be exits at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea look to trim their roster ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Romelu Lukaku, for example, continues to be linked with yet another move to Italy, while Ian Maatsen could be set for a switch to Aston Villa.
The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Villa had agreed a deal with Chelsea to sign the left-back.
Maatsen made just one start in the Premier League last season before joining Borussia Dortmund on loan in January.
Interested club have work to do
After spending so much money in recent transfer windows, Chelsea are, understandably, happy for some players to leave the club this summer.
The above clearly includes Maatsen, with The Telegraph claiming that Villa have struck a deal worth around £37m with their Premier League rivals for the 22-year-old.
However, there is still work to be done, as the same outlet states that the Villans need to convince Maatsen to make the move before a transfer can be completed.
Journalist Florian Plettenberg claims that Dortmund are actually the club who the Dutchman wants to join this transfer window.
Will Ian Maatsen say yes to Aston Villa?
Maatsen may very well wish to remain at Dortmund, but the German club are not stumping up the cash for his services.
With that in mind, Villa may not end up having to do too much convincing here.
Maatsen surely wants out of Chelsea after being behind Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill in the left-back pecking order last season.
Right now, Villa look to be his only escape route, and they are certainly not a bad one. After all, Unai Emery’s men will be playing in the Champions League after finishing fourth.
Ultimately, at this stage, it would be a bit of a surprise if Maatsen turned down the Villans.