Ian Maatsen can ease Chelsea exit by stopping Kylian Mbappe in Champions League

Bombed out by Chelsea, Ian Maatsen will be key to helping Borussia Dortmund stop Kylian Mbappe’s Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League semi-final.

Left-back Maatsen left Chelsea on loan in January after making just three starts under Mauricio Pochettino in the first half of the season. And while Chelsea have been having issues with the left side of their defence, Maatsen has been shining for Dortmund.

The 22-year-old Dutchman has made 18 starts, scored in their Champions League quarter-final win over Atletico Madrid and excelled in the victory over Bayern Munich in Der Klassiker.

Maatsen signed a new contract in January when he left Chelsea, which includes a £35million release clause, and he says “all options are open” at the end of this season.

But his primary focus is fulfilling his dream of reaching the Champions League Final and lifting the trophy at Wembley on June 1.

Maatsen watched from home when Chelsea won the Champions League in 2021, and academy team-mates Billy Gilmour and Tino Anjorin called him on FaceTime from the celebrations afterwards. Since then he has wanted to be on the biggest stage himself — and against PSG, he will be centre-stage.

While he plays on the opposite flank to Mbappe, he told the Telegraph ahead of the game: “He’s world-class. We have to stop him, of course. It’s a great test for me to go up against the best.”

Should Dortmund win the Champions League, they would bank an estimated £100m, which would help fund permanent moves for Maatsen and Jadon Sancho. Bayern Munich also see Maatsen as a potential replacement for Real Madrid-bound Alphonso Davies.

Maatsen looks unlikely to return to Chelsea, who accepted a £31.5m offer from Burnley for him last summer, only for him to turn down the move, believing he could make it at a higher level, either at Chelsea or elsewhere.

But his lack of height — he is 5ft 6ins — then cost him at Stamford Bridge.

Pochettino opted to mitigate having one of the smallest squads in the Premier League by playing 6ft 2ins Levi Colwill at left-back, while Maatsen was also behind other taller options, Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella.

Chelsea’s inclusion of a release clause in his deal makes it clear that they want to cash in on a player who, as an academy product, represents ‘pure profit’ in club accounts. The Blues need to raise funds before June 30 to ensure they remain in line with Premier League profit and sustainability rules.

Maatsen could make the Holland squad for Euro 2024, which could create problems for Chelsea and delay his exit. But his only focus for now is achieving his dream.

“I watched the 2021 final at home,” Maatsen said. “It was special Chelsea won it. I told myself, ‘One day, I want to be one of those guys on the biggest stage’. And now I have this opportunity.”