Chelsea slap £30 million price-tag on 21-year-old star who has played just over 200 minutes of Premier League football - Reports

Chelsea have decided that they will make left-back Ian Maatsen available for a transfer for a fee of £30 million this transfer window. The Blues are looking to sell some of their homegrown players to raise money and avoid FFP sanctions over their spending.

The January transfer window is open, and clubs are beginning to do business, some of which have been carried over from the summer. Chelsea, in particular, have been a busy club in recent transfer windows, and Maatsen is one of those deals that spilled over from the summer.

Burnley sent a proposal to the Blues to sign the 21-year-old Maatsen on transfer deadline day, but the Dutchman refused to move. He spent a season on loan at the Clarets in 2022-23, where he was named in the Championship Team of the Season after a great spell.

Chelsea are now prepared to sell the young defender for only £30 million, as per Express, and have made this clear to his suitors. Borussia Dortmund have shown their interest in signing him, but are unwilling to pay that much to sign him.

Maatsen has been a fringe player for the Blues in the first half of the season, with manager Mauricio Pochettino always playing him out of position. The youngster has played a total of 201 Premier League minutes and has just one start for the club in the competition so far this season.

Pochettino has preferred Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella and even Malo Gusto to Maatsen at left-back, leading to the youngster considering his future. There is a strong possibility of Maatsen leaving the club this month in search of regular game time.

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Chelsea keen to raise funds from player sales

In terms of selling players, Chelsea are arguably the most successful of the big six clubs in the Premier League. They mostly raise money from their sales of stars, and they managed to do so in the summer with Kai Havertz and Mason Mount.

The Blues have spent around £1 billion since the arrival of the Clearlake Group, and they intend to continue to invest in their squad. The way for them to avoid any sanctions from UEFA is to raise money by selling players.

Academy graduates and club-trained players are usually the best to sell in situations like this, as they will represent pure profit on their books. The club is considering offloading Maatsen, Trevoh Chalobah, and stand-in captain Conor Gallagher this January.

There has also been talk of Armando Broja being available for a transfer, but there has been no confirmation of any movement on this front.