14 hours ago, just said:

Personally, I would hope we can find a solid, more physically imposing left back than either Cucurella, (who I don't rate at all), or Maatsen.

Personally, I am a big fan of Antonee Robinson. Think he is a fantastic all-rounded LB. Prob doesn't happen though.

4 hours ago, STATS said:

Personally, I am a big fan of Antonee Robinson. Think he is a fantastic all-rounded LB. Prob doesn't happen though.

Speedster. Great in attack, defensively pretty suspect. Not dissimilar to Alphonso Davies.

On 07/06/2024 at 11:36, dermott said:

Speedster. Great in attack, defensively pretty suspect. Not dissimilar to Alphonso Davies.

May as well keep Maatsen for that profile

 

16 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

 

He will be absolute weapon under the right setup which Villa looks like.

It was nice to see you do well at Dortmund Ian, see you later. Ok bye.

If we overspend on Duran because of this I might break something. 

I'd usually be happy with that bit of news but afraid it will be followed by "Chelsea reach agreement with Villa to sign Duran for £60m" 

17 minutes ago, Brigadeiro Mk II said:

I'd usually be happy with that bit of news but afraid it will be followed by "Chelsea reach agreement with Villa to sign Duran for £60m" 

 

 

And now watch him sign for Wolves! 🤣 

In all seriousness, a decent fee, but could be one we regret selling?

On 06/06/2024 at 12:34, ozboy said:

It’s the same with Sterling in my view. Fans take a set for or against a player and having done so find evidence to confirm their opinion. 

Tbf, there’s an abundance of riches out there for Sterling disaster classes. Essentially the forum poster equivalent of Smaug the dragon sitting on all that gold in the hobbit. 

I think it's a reasonable price.

38 minutes ago, Term_X said:

Tbf, there’s an abundance of riches out there for Sterling disaster classes. Essentially the forum poster equivalent of Smaug the dragon sitting on all that gold in the hobbit. 

Talking of hobbits, perhaps somebody should tell Unai Emery how short Maatsen is!

If Unai Emery sees something in Maatsen, we are missing it. 

 

I hope he does well. I really think Villa will stay challengers for Europe as long as they keep Emery in charge.

Good move for him and a decent price especially pre June 30th.

 

2 hours ago, ross91690 said:

If Unai Emery sees something in Maatsen, we are missing it. 

 

I hope he does well. I really think Villa will stay challengers for Europe as long as they keep Emery in charge.

I'll be shocked if Emery makes top 6. Not a great judge of talent either, a man who makes Nicolas Pepe his signature signing is not someone you hand the keys to for transfers. 

2 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

I'll be shocked if Emery makes top 6. Not a great judge of talent either, a man who makes Nicolas Pepe his signature signing is not someone you hand the keys to for transfers. 

He isn’t the one holding the keys and making decisions regarding transfers, Monchi who is a brilliant sporting director is the one making these decisions. He has signed Pau Torres, Diaby, Tielemans & Kamara both on a free. Those are very savvy signings IMO. 
I reckon they will be in the mix for a top 8 position again next season. He took them from 14th to 7th, and now 4th place, he is doing a very good job.

 

6 hours ago, Gordon Bennett said:

Talking of hobbits, perhaps somebody should tell Unai Emery how short Maatsen is!

Alex Moreno is currently their LB, and he is of average height. I don’t buy this narrative of Maatsen is too short to make it here, aren’t Utd playing a 5ft 9’ Martinez at CB?  Teams don’t just lump it forward anymore; and he will be up against RWs & RBs, majority of whom are of average height. This whole discourse around his height takes away from his strengths going forward. Emery would have Konsa at RB playing a restricted role and tucking in when he bombs forward. They also have DMs who cover a lot of ground who will fill in for him.

1 hour ago, ducavis said:

He isn’t the one holding the keys and making decisions regarding transfers, Monchi who is a brilliant sporting director is the one making these decisions. He has signed Pau Torres, Diaby, Tielemans & Kamara both on a free. Those are very savvy signings IMO. 
I reckon they will be in the mix for a top 8 position again next season. He took them from 14th to 7th, and now 4th place, he is doing a very good job.

 

Alex Moreno is currently their LB, and he is of average height. I don’t buy this narrative of Maatsen is too short to make it here, aren’t Utd playing a 5ft 9’ Martinez at CB?  Teams don’t just lump it forward anymore; and he will be up against RWs & RBs, majority of whom are of average height. This whole discourse around his height takes away from his strengths going forward. Emery would have Konsa at RB playing a restricted role and tucking in when he bombs forward. They also have DMs who cover a lot of ground who will fill in for him.

Having a short lb is a liability. Our opp constantly targeted Cucu with far cross last season. 

If you think what Maatsen give you worth more than that and as a team you can cope with this , then it is fine. 

(if you have gusto as rb, Enzo + Caicedo as dm, and all of your attacker are useless in the air Maatsen is not ideal) 

Edited June 20, 20242 yr by Bob stark

Good piece of business with Maatsen. I personally think he would have fitted into Maresca's plans better than Chilwell but he very hard to ship out. 

I think he will do very well with Villa.

Best of luck to him. Pretty good price for us and we can see in a years time if Poch was right not to even try to use him as a full back. 

16 hours ago, loz said:

I think it's a reasonable price.

For Villa it's a bargain!

Amazing!

Our  academy is coaching individual youngsters for most of their lives yet turn out duds who aren't up to Chelsea standard and need to be sold !

started in the Champions league final, now signing for a club with champions league football..:.

Not good enough for a game in his actual position at chelsea 😂🤯

There's no official confirmation on why Chelsea opted to sell Ian Maatsen, but here are some possible reasons:

• Loan Focus: Maatsen spent the last few seasons on loan spells at various clubs. This might suggest Chelsea management felt he needed more experience at a senior level before competing for a regular spot.
• Competition: Chelsea already has established left-backs like Ben Chilwell. Maatsen might have faced an uphill battle to break into the first team.
• Playing Style: It's possible Chelsea's managers preferred a different style of play at left-back than what Maatsen offers.
• Transfer Fee: News reports suggest Chelsea received a significant transfer fee for Maatsen. This suggests they were happy with his development and saw a good opportunity for profit.

It's important to note that these are just theories. I assume the decision likely involved a combination of factors considered by the Chelsea management team. (Or maybe he was just not tall enough lol)

I find it amusing how certain posters "fail" to appreciate the difference between trying to fit Maatsen into an already small and aerially suspect Chelsea team vs playing him in the team of giants that Dortmund have. I guess logic takes a back seat when the desire is simply to have another stick with which to beat the ex-Tottenham manager LOL.