West Ham United are frontrunners to sign Ian Maatsen despite Mauricio Pochettino telling him to stay at Chelsea.
Mauricio Pochettino is keen to keep hold of Chelsea talent Ian Maatsen amid interest from West Ham United.
That is according to a report from the London Evening Standard, who claim that Pochettino wants to keep Maatsen.
It’s stated that Pochettino has told Maatsen that he wants to keep him at Stamford Bridge.
Contract talks are now underway for Maatsen to potentially stay at Chelsea for a while yet – but the Dutchman wants assurances.
The 21-year-old is coming off a title-winning season on loan at Burnley and doesn’t want to stall his development by signing on at Chelsea and then being stuck on the sidelines.
Pochettino seemingly has plans for Maatsen but Chelsea already have two left backs in Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella.
Maybe Maatsen ends up playing as a winger for Chelsea but there is much for him to think about given that he has plenty of suitors.
West Ham United leading race for Ian Maatsen
The report claims that Burnley would love to re-sign Maatsen whilst Ajax and Lens are also interested.
Yet the frontrunners are thought to be West Ham United as they consider signing another Chelsea left back.
The Hammers signed Emerson Palmieri from Chelsea last summer, bringing him in as competition for Aaron Cresswell.
David Moyes could now return to Chelsea for Maatsen with Cresswell attracting interest from Premier League rivals.
It’s suggested that Chelsea would have sold Maatsen for around £20million earlier this summer but an impressive pre-season may have changed that price tag.
Signing a new deal and heading out on loan could be the move for Maatsen, but it’s unclear whether West Ham would fancy a loan deal.
Pochettino will hope to have convinced Maatsen but the lure of first-team action at West Ham may well tempt the Dutchman into leaving Chelsea.
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