West Ham United must surely now abandon pursuit of Chelsea defender Ian Maatsen as new update emerges
West Ham have once again been linked with Chelsea full-back Ian Maatsen this month, but the Irons must surely now be having second thoughts.
David Moyes’ side were supposedly close to signing Maatsen late in the summer window, only for Aaron Cresswell to stay put at London Stadium [The Express, 1 September].
That interest was said to have been revived ahead of the window reopening this month, with Dean Jones telling GiveMeSport (25 December) that West Ham have a “very good chance” of pulling off a deal.
However, Sky Sports Germany reported on Tuesday (2 January) that, amid suggestions Borussia Dortmund are also in the running for Maatsen, Chelsea are after £26million (€30m).
It is claimed that Chelsea are looking to offload the defender on an initial loan with an obligation to buy for that large fee in order to ensure they comply with FFP regulations.
Maatsen showed in the Championship last season that he is an extremely talented player with the world at his feet, but paying £26m for a player with just one top-flight start to his name in any country is surely out of the question.
West Ham are accustomed to spending big these days, of course, but the club have to be smart with their transfer business. Unlike in the summer, there is not a £100m+ windfall to play with.
A new striker is surely a priority for Moyes right now, and any funds should go towards filling that gap, while it may well be that Chelsea lower their asking price for Maatsen in the summer.
Cresswell will definitely need replacing at that point, but Emerson Palmieri’s form suggests he could hold down the left-back position for at least another 18 months.
The transfer department will no doubt have some targets in mind, but Maatsen – right now, at least – should no longer be one of them.
