Chelsea have been struck with a loan conundrum ahead of Ian Maatsen’s potential move to Borussia Dortmund this window.
According to reports, the Blues have made a verbal agreement over a loan deal for Ian Maatsen to join the German outfit this month.
Maatsen – who spent last season on loan with Burnley – will travel to Germany on Tuesday for his medical, which they believe will take place within the next 48 hours.
While the Blues will be delighted to get Maatsen – who has featured 12 times in the Premier League – some regular playing time, they will first have to manage their current loanees, as per FIFA rules.
Rules state that clubs are only allowed to loan out seven players internationally at any one time to try to prevent the stockpiling of talent.
Dortmund and Chelsea have made a verbal agreement over a loan deal for Ian Maatsen
However, Mauricio Pochettino’s side will need to cancel one of their seven foreign loanees
Your browser does not support iframes.
Currently, ahead of Maatsen’s move, Chelsea already have seven players loaned out to foreign clubs – meaning they would have to cancel one of their existing loans in order for the full-back to leave.
Their current loanees include Romelu Lukaku, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Angelo, Hakim Ziyech, David Fofana, Gabriel Slonina and Diego Moriera.
The most likely of those to have their loan deal terminated is winger Ziyech, with Galatasaray ready to cut ties with the player just five months after his arrival in the Turkish Super Lig.
He’s featured 14 times in all competitions, with two more goals coming in the Champions League but has been ‘ineffective’ and not able to ‘perform as expected’, according to Turkish outlet NTV Spor.
And amid the player’s constant battle to stay fit this season – having missed nine games through injury after problems with his foot and hamstring, Galatasaray are now said to be ready to cut his loan deal short and send him back to Chelsea.
The Blues also recently opted to recall Andrey Santos from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest.
Santos joined the Blues from Brazilian side Vasco de Gama in January 2023 for £18million before joining Forest on loan in the recent summer window.
Striker Romelu Lukaku (L) and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (R) are amongst Chelsea’s seven current foreign loanees
Galatasaray could end Hakim Ziyech’s (pictured) loan from Chelsea after just five months
However, his spell in Nottingham did not as planned and, after making just two appearances for the club, has been recalled by Chelsea.
If the west London giants want to ensure he gets first-team football, it’s more than likely they will have to look at another English side to take Santos.
Mail Sport recently revealed that Santos has attracted interest from Crystal Palace amid the end of his loan spell at Forest.
Roy Hodgson, meanwhile, may look to Santos as midfield cover after Cheick Doucoure suffered a ruptured achilles in November that could rule him out for the remainder of the season.
Chelsea opted to recall Andrey Santos from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest
Maatsen, meanwhile, rejected a permanent switch to Burnley in the summer, after helping the Clarets win promotion to the Premier League while on loan last season.
The Dutchman played 39 games for Burnley in the Championship, scoring four goals and setting up a further six.
Maatsen also had loan spells at Charlton and Coventry before returning to the Premier League giants.
So far this season Maatsen has made 15 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions but he has started just once in the Premier League.