If you are good enough to play for Bayern Munich, then you are good enough to play for Chelsea.
That is surely not crazy logic. Bayern are a European powerhouse, fighting for the Bundesliga title — though it looks like they will miss out on it this season — and competing for a seventh Champions League trophy.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are not even in Europe right now and are currently in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
It begs the question, then, how can Bayern consider Ian Maatsen as a left-back option but not Mauricio Pochettino?
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Bayern Munich’s interest in Ian Maatsen
It does appear that Maatsen is a player who Bayern have on their radar ahead of the summer transfer window.
Last week, HITC claimed that Bayern are considering Maatsen as a potential replacement for Alphonso Davies. Since then, Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg has reported something similar.
The Bundesliga champions have probably liked what they have seen from the 22-year-old at their rivals Borussia Dortmund.
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He joined Edin Terzic’s side on loan in January after a lack of game time at Chelsea and has contributed to three goals in 10 league appearances, which is what you want from an attacking full-back.
But why exactly was Maatsen so underused at Chelsea and should Pochettino have given him more minutes?
Ian Maatsen good enough for Chelsea
To be fair to Pochettino, Chelsea were not short of left-back options when the season started.
The Argentine had Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella and Maatsen all to call upon, while central defender Levi Colwill quickly became another solution.
However, Chilwell and Cucurella both picked up injuries in the first half of the campaign, while Colwill is obviously not a left-back by trade. The opportunity to test Maatsen out was there, but Pochettino was not interested.
In the end, the Dutchman made just one Premier League start and it was not even at left-back.
Over the last year, Maatsen has ranked in the 89th percentile for progressive passes and the 86th for progressive carries among full-backs (FBref). He certainly could have done a job as an attacking left-back for Chelsea this season, but he never got the chance to and his time at Stamford Bridge now looks to be over.
Maatsen has a £35m release clause in his contract and you would expect at least one of Dortmund, Bayern or someone else to trigger it based on how he is playing at the moment.
