Medical booked as Aston Villa roar towards sublime Chelsea raid; £19m-rated midfielder moves the other way
Aston Villa and Chelsea are on the cusp of completing two transfers that will see Ian Maatsen arrive at Villa Park for £37.5m and an attacking midfielder move the other way.
Maatsen, 22, shone during a six-month loan spell with Borussia Dortmund during the second half of last season. The German giants hoped to sign Netherlands international outright once the loan spell concluded, though could not finance the left-back’s £35m release clause.
With Dortmund switching their attention to Fenerbahce’s Ferdi Kadioglu, the door swung wide open for rival suitors to pounce for Maatsen.
That’s exactly what Aston Villa have done, with trusted reporter David Ornstein reporting Villa and Chelsea had agreed a deal worth £37.5m three days ago.
The reason why Villa are paying above the £35m release clause is two-fold. Firstly, the clause was only available to Dortmund and secondly, it has already expired anyway.
Nonetheless, Aston Villa were not to be deterred and after agreeing a fee with Chelsea, wasted no time putting a six-year contract on the table for Maatsen.
According to a fresh update from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Maatsen’s move is thundering along and a medical will be undertaken this weekend.
Taking to X, Romano stated: “Ian Maatsen set to undergo medical tests as new Aston Villa player this weekend!
“Chelsea just gave permission to proceed with medical at Netherlands camp. £37.5m fee to Chelsea, player’s contract almost agreed — waiting on final details. Here we go, soon.”
Given Maatsen is a homegrown player, the proceeds from the sale will represent pure profits on Chelsea’s balance sheet.
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£19m midfielder moving the opposite direction
Talk of a Villa player moving the other way as part of Maatsen’s deal swirled. A player will switch Villa Park for Stamford Bridge, though in an entirely separate transfer.
Both Ornstein and Romano confirmed Chelsea are primed to sign 18-year-old Omari Kellyman.
Kellyman is an attacking midfielder by trade, though his versatility also allows him to operate up front or on the wings.
Kellyman has represented England at Under-19 and Under-20 level and scored seven goals in 11 matches for Villa in the Premier League 2 last season.
The youngster has given the go ahead to joining Chelsea who will pay a £19m fee to close the deal.
Talks over personal terms are in full swing and barring any unforeseen hiccups, he’ll trade places with Maatsen over the coming days.
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