The story of Ian Maatsen is interesting to review. This Javanese-blooded Aston Villa player has a market value that beats all Indonesian National Team squads.
In the data uploaded by transfermarkt recently, Ian Maatsen has a market value of around IDR 556.2 billion. Meanwhile, in the Indonesian National Team, the holder of the highest market value is Mees Hilgers whose market value is around IDR 156.4 billion.
This comparison of market values became interesting after Ian Maasten was rumored to be strengthening the Indonesian National Team. However, this is just a rumor and there has been no follow-up from PSSI regarding the naturalization of the Aston Villa player.
The Story of Ian Maatsen
Ian Ethan Maatsen was born on March 10, 2002 in Vlaardingen, Netherlands. The Indonesian blood in him comes from his mother who is Javanese.
In addition to Indonesia, Maatsen also has Surinamese blood from his father. Maatsen began his football career at Feyenoord’s academy, then moved to Sparta Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven, before finally joining Chelsea’s academy in 2018.
He made his professional debut for Chelsea on 25 September 2019 in a League Cup match against Grimsby Town. He replaced Marcos Alonso in the 66th minute in a 7-1 win.
To gain regular playing experience, Maatsen was loaned to several clubs. Among them, there are Charlton Athletic (2020-2021), Coventry City (2021-2022), and Burnley (2022-2023).
In the first half of the 2023-2024 season, Maatsen returned to Chelsea. He appeared in 15 matches before being loaned to Borussia Dortmund in January 2024.
While at Dortmund, he appeared in 16 Bundesliga matches and scored two goals, as well as appearing in seven Champions League matches. He also helped Die Schwarzgelben reach the final.
Finally in the summer of 2024, Maatsen signed a permanent contract with Aston Villa. This season, the 23-year-old has recorded 35 matches with one goal and an assist.
Maatsen has represented the Netherlands at various age levels, from U-15 to U-21. In September 2023, he received his first call-up to the Dutch senior national team for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
Although initially not included in the final squad for Euro 2024, he was recalled on June 11. Ian Maatsen replaced the injured Frenkie de Jong.
This extraordinary career achievement is what makes the player from Vlaardingen have a high market value.
