German club reluctant to meet Chelsea’s demands for full-back

This summer is set to be another busy one for Chelsea, with the club’s new owners entering their third year in charge at Stamford Bridge. 

Since taking charge of the club in the summer of 2022, Todd Boehly and Clearlake have spent more than £1 billion on new signings.

While the January transfer window earlier this year was uncharacteristically quiet for the Blues, the club are set to be busy once again this time around.

It won’t just be arrivals taking place at Stamford Bridge, though, with the club likely to have to sell players in order to adhere to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

With that in mind, Chelsea are looking to offload a number of players, but they face tough negotiations with a German side in one instance.

As per 90min, German club Borussia Dortmund are reluctant to meet the Blues’ valuation of full-back Ian Maatsen.

Maatsen helped Dortmund reach the Champions League final last season

The Dutch defender has spent the past six months on loan at the Bundesliga side, and Dortmund are keen to make his move permanent.

Chelsea are also open to letting the academy graduate depart, but the two clubs are currently quite far apart in terms of their valuations of the player.

Maatsen’s loan move to Germany didn’t include an option-to-buy clause, but the report claims that his contract does now have a release clause set at £35 million.

Dortmund, though, are reluctant to pay more than £25 million for the Netherlands international as they have already paid a loan fee to their Premier League counterparts.

The 22-year-old, who has played 16 times for the Blues, made a total of 23 appearances for Dortmund during his loan spell.

He played a key role for the Bundesliga side as they reached the Champions League final, before suffering a 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid at Wembley.