West Ham United have been given encouragement that Ian Maatsen could leave Chelsea for the Hammers this summer.
Chelsea left back Ian Maatsen continues to be targeted by West Ham Unite with rising hope of a deal being done.
That is according to The Guardian, who claim that West Ham have ‘received indications’ that Maatsen could sign this summer.
Reporter Jacob Steinberg added on Twitter that West Ham think there is now a loan deal in the offing, with an option to buy included.
Maatsen is back at Chelsea this summer having spent last season on loan at Burnley.
The Dutchman played a vital role in Burnley’s promotion, bagging four goals and six assists during his time at Turf Moor.
Maatsen has impressed during pre-season friendlies at Chelsea but his future remains a little unclear.
Chelsea already have two left backs in Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella; maybe Maatsen can play further forward but it’s not ideal.
The London Evening Standard claimed just a few days ago that Mauricio Pochettino is trying to convince Maatsen to stay.
West Ham are seemingly receiving encouraging noises though, meaning Maatsen may well be tempted to leave Chelsea and chase first-team football elsewhere.
West Ham interest in Ian Maatsen may hinge on Aaron Cresswell
This has been a very busy day for West Ham with deals now seemingly in place for Harry Maguire and James Ward-Prowse.
Add in the imminent signing of Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez and we are finally seeing West Ham splash some of the Declan Rice cash.
Maatsen seems to be a key target too but West Ham may want to move Aaron Cresswell on first.
The Sun’s Alan Nixon reports that both Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers want to sign Cresswell this summer.
If the experienced left back moves on then Maatsen could come in to compete with Emerson Palmieri, ironically another left back West Ham signed from Chelsea just last summer.
Maatsen is very attack-minded and could give West Ham a new dimension, with David Moyes potentially gaining hope in his pursuit of the 21-year-old.
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