Ian Maatsen admitted staying at Chelsea for the first half of the season still plays on his mind, but doesn’t regret it as he believed his chance would come.
Maatsen returned to Chelsea last summer following a very successful loan spell at Burnley, where he won the title under Vincent Kompany, and was named in the Championship team of the year.
The 22-year-old impressed under Mauricio Pochettino in pre season, and turned down a permanent move to Turf Moor to fight for his place at Chelsea, despite the two clubs agreeing a deal worth £31.5m.
Unfortunately for Maatsen opportunities were few and far between at Stamford Bridge during the first half of the season and he only started one Premier League game against Crystal Palace just after Christmas.
Despite Ben Chilwell being injured Pochettino preferred to play Levi Colwill out of position rather than give the Dutchman a chance at left back.
The Blues wanted to sell Maatsen in January, but instead he signed a new contract, with a £35m release clause inserted and joined German giants Borussia Dortmund.
The left back has hit the ground running in Germany, quickly establishing himself as a key player for Dortmund, and scored in the Champions League quarter victory against Atletico Madrid.
Speaking before the first leg of Dortmund’s Champions League semi final against French giants Paris Saint Germain, Maatsen revealed staying at Chelsea for the first half of the season still plays on his mind.
“Yeah, it plays with your mind, but I still believed my chance would come by being patient, working hard”, he told The Telegraph.
“For some reason, it didn’t work out and afterwards you have to find a solution and the deal happened between Dortmund and Chelsea. Also I need to thank Chelsea that I’m here and they gave me that opportunity.”
Maatsen is believed to want to make his move to Dortmund permanent in the summer.
