There are not many youth systems in English football as successful as Chelsea’s Cobham academy. In recent years, Chelsea’s academy products have dominated English football, and not just whilst playing at Stamford Bridge.
Some, like Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount, make a major impact at Chelsea, via a loan spell where they hone their skills in a first-team environment. Gallagher is now a key member of Chelsea’s first-team squad, and Mount won the Champions League with his boyhood side, before leaving for Manchester United last summer.
Mount was not the only Cobham product to win the biggest prize in European football in 2021. The likes of Reece James, now club captain, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who now play for Roma and Nottingham Forest respectively, were some of the other Cobham graduates involved in the squad.
Not only do the Blues take British talent and turn them into superstars at Cobham, but they also buy players from further afield. A recent example of this is Charly Musonda, a highly-rated winger who joined Chelsea from Anderlecht in 2012. Sadly, due to injury issues, it did not work out for Musonda at Chelsea, and he now plies his trade in Cyprus for Anorthosis.
However, the west Londoners might have a more recent youngster brought in from outside of Britain, who could turn out to be one of the club's most profitable academy graduates in recent years.
Ian Maatsen’s transfer value in 2024
In 2018, Chelsea signed young left-back Ian Maatsen from PSV Eindhoven’s academy for a fee of just £94k. Since joining the club, Maatsen has managed just 16 appearances and is yet to register a goal involvement.
However, he has been on loan at various clubs, particularly impressing at Burnley last season, where he scored four goals and assisted six in the Championship to help the Clarets get promoted to the Premier League.
Now, Maatsen finds himself on loan at Borussia Dortmund, a move which took place in January and will last until the end of the season. Despite signing a new contract before he departed on loan, Football Insider, believe the Blues are considering selling Maatsen during the summer transfer window.
The rumoured price tag set by Chelsea for Maatsen is £30m. If they managed to get that much money, it would represent excellent profit from the £94k they spent on the Dutchman, a margin of a whopping 31,478%, to be exact.
However, Chelsea’s expectations for Maatsen’s cost might be too high. The "special" talent – as described by Blues writer Tom Overend – is valued at £17m according to Football Observatory, £13m less than what Todd Boehly and Co would allegedly accept for him in the summer.
Ian Maatsen’s season in numbers
Maatsen has had an impressive time of things at Dortmund during his loan spell so far. The 22-year-old has played 18 games, a stint which has yielded four goal involvements, two goals and two assists.
The Netherlands U21 international has been superb in attack for Dortmund and has been tucking into midfield and holding width on the left-hand side at times. He has been a constant creative threat. According to Sofascore, Maatasen has created three big chances in the Bundesliga and averages 0.6 key passes per game.
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Defensively, the left-back has also performed well. As well as being part of five clean sheets in the Bundesliga, Maatsen averages 1.9 tackles per game and an impressive 5.1 ball recoveries per game. This is no surprise, given his pace helps him to make quick recovery runs and win the ball back for his side. On average, the defender also wins 3.2 ground duels per game.
The youthful loanee has developed a good understanding with Dortmund’s left-wingers. Whilst the German outfit do not have a set option out wide, Maatsen has a good partnership with the likes of Karim Adeyemi, Jadon Sancho and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, all options for Dortmund on the left.
It has certainly been a productive loan spell for Maatsen in Germany thus far. He has played a big part in his side reaching the Champions League semi-final, where they will face PSG, and the Dutchman will also have a large role to play as they push for a top-four finish this season.
It remains to be seen whether Dortmund themselves will match Chelsea’s £30m price tag for Maatsen. Regardless, it is a fee that represents great profit for the Blues and can be reinvested to help improve their squad and push them up the table.