TalkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has just explained why he thinks Chelsea could be about to make a huge mistake in this summer transfer window.
There’s certainly been lots of ups and downs in the transfer market during the first two years of the current Chelsea ownership.
The Blues recruitment team is under-fire from supporters for some of its spending, albeit they’ve got some credit in the bank for the genius signing of Cole Palmer.
As well as any new signings this summer, it will be interesting to see which players go through the exit doors.
Gabriel Agbonlahor warning to Chelsea
Gabriel Agbonlahor suggests that Chelsea could soon make a glaring error by selling Ian Maatsen.
There’s widespread reports in the media suggesting that Blues left-back Maatsen, 22, is about to sign for Premier League rivals Aston Villa on a permanent basis.
When asked if Chelsea will regret selling Maatsen, Agbonlahor told talkSPORT: “100%. I get why they are letting him go, £35-40million, they’ve already got Marc Cucurella, they’ve got Ben Chilwell, they don’t need another left back.
“But he could end up being better than both.
“Young age of 22, we’ll bite their hands off. He’s a player who’s going to play every week, six year deal, Aston Villa are going to start doing that as well with youngsters, getting them signed up long term.
“So I think it’s one that Chelsea will regret and one that Aston Villa fans are going to love. He’ll start and then it wouldn’t surprise me if Lucas Digne moves on and Alex Moreno is the back-up left back.”
Ian Maatsen latest
There’s no official confirmation yet that Maatsen, who is currently at Euro 2024 with the Dutch squad, will be moving to Villa Park. However, all the rumours are pointing in that direction.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed via X on Wednesday that Villa are confident of completing a deal to sign Maatsen by the end of this week.
Meanwhile, The Athletic first reported that Villa have agreed with Chelsea to buy Maatsen in a deal worth just above £35m.
Will the Blues regret this?
Based on what Maatsen did out on loan at Borussia Dortmund in the second half of last season, he’s got a big future ahead of him.
The Chelsea Chronicle would have loved for the attack-minded left-back to have been reintegrated to the Blues squad next season. In fact, his game could really suit the style of new head coach Enzo Maresca.
However, it seems like a decent bit of business to sell the defender for £35m-plus.
Let’s wait and see how his game develops in a Villa shirt if this deal gets over the line.