Official: Ian Maatsen joins Burnley on loan from Chelsea

Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen will spend the season on loan at Burnley.

The 20-year old defender impressed on loan at Championship outfit Coventry City last season and was named their young player of the year. Capable at both fullback and wingback positions, Maatsen will become Burnley’s seventh (!) signing of the summer.

Maatsen would have hoped for a chance to impress Blues manager Thomas Tuchel on the pre-season tour and make a case for himself, given the rumoured departure of Marcos Alonso. However, he was not included in the group of players which travelled to the United States and soon after finalized his loan move to Burnley.

Burnley ditched manager Sean Dyche over the course of last season’s relegation dog fight and have now chosen former Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany to lead them back to the Premier League.

Kompany has earned a good reputation following an impressive coaching spell at Anderlecht in his native Belgium. He is hoping to implement a more progressive/possession-based system at Burnley and has so far engineered a complete overhaul of the playing squad to more suit his tactics.

Meanwhile Maatsen will hope to build on last season and become a crucial part of a team competing for promotion. And given that a lot of the player Burnley have signed are just as young, Maatsen’s experience in the Championship should prove an asset.

Good luck, Ian!