Ian Maatsen reveals why he decided to leave Chelsea

Chelsea's defender, Ian Maasten has explained his reason for leaving the Premier Leagie club to join Borussia Dortmund during the 2024 winter transfer window.

Maasten was speaking in an interview with the Guardian where he confirmed that the board at Chelsea really wanted him stay at the club. However, the lack of enough game time was his reason for leaving the Blues.

He said,

"The coach, the board, gave me a lot of confidence because they really wanted me. They put trust in me and I put trust in them. I think that’s why it went so well. I had trust at Chelsea but with the pressure they are under it is sometimes difficult for a manager to let everyone play especially young talents with potential. He has to make decisions for the team. You have to deal with it as a young player. Sometimes it’s not fair but maybe it’s the best decision for the club and other teammates. I appreciate that. But I want to play football.”

The 22-year-old was keen to remain at Chelsea despite the offers he had from last summer. He rejected a season-loan loan offer at Burnley but rather choose to join Dortmund on loan with the option to join in his deal at the Bundesliga club.

He added,

"My plan was to stay at Chelsea, I would have done my loan spells. I thought I was ready to compete for the big clubs. But sometimes football works like this. I didn’t get a lot of opportunities. It’s not the end of the world but you have to be ready. You always have to believe because football can go quickly.”

However, it is yet to be seen if Chelsea will give him more game time next season following the injury situation of Ben Chilell and Marc Cucurella.