The father of Chelsea defender Ian Maatsen has suggested his son is hopeful of remaining at Borussia Dortmund in the long term.
Maatsen began the season eager to establish himself as a valuable player in Mauricio Pochettino's first-team squad at Stamford Bridge.
However, having been kept on the periphery, the Netherlands Under-21 international was allowed to make the temporary switch to Westfalenstadion in January.
Since his arrival, the 22-year-old has enjoyed regular football in a top division for the first time in his career, making 14 starts in the Bundesliga.
Furthermore, four starts have also come in the Champions League, with Maatsen contributing two goals and two assists during that period as he continues to impress at left-back.
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What has Maatsen's father had to say?
With Dortmund possessing a £35m buy option at the end of the loan deal, it is plausible to expect that Maatsen has played his final game for Chelsea.
That is regardless of whether Dortmund are prepared to pay the set price, with there likely to be some room for negotiation given Chelsea's current position with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Edward Maatsen has acknowledged that the respective parties are holding conversations, while also accusing Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital of having the wrong priorities in football.
Speaking to Voetbal International, Edward said: "We are working on staying at the club [Dortmund]. The clubs have to fight it out among themselves. Ian is developing well here and things are not going well at Chelsea since they changed ownership.
"A lot at that club also revolves around money, which sometimes seems more important than the club's interests.
"We have more options besides Chelsea and Dortmund, but Dortmund has proven to be a good restart. And look which guys come from there... [Jude] Bellingham, [Erling] Haaland."
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Is a permanent transfer to Dortmund realistic?
Having made a considerable profit on transfers last summer, Dortmund are likely to be in a position where they can commit to paying £35m for Maatsen.
Chelsea will also argue with justification that Maatsen's 18 starts prove his value to Dortmund and they should not lower the fee from the initial agreement, yet shelling out £35m for a left-back is a rarity, even in modern-day football.
In history, only six deals involving left-backs have exceeded €40m (£34.2m), while Maatsen is not even a senior international for Netherlands at this point in time.
Despite the potential complexities, though, it would come as a surprise if a compromise cannot be reached, with Chelsea aware of the benefit this deal can have with their PSR situation.
Darren Plant
