Chelsea activate Ian Maatsen contract option after two rejected offers — report

Ian Maatsen’s contract was set to expire at the end of the season, but according to an exclusive by Nizaar Kinsella in the Evening Standard, Chelsea have “quietly” activated a club-option to extend it by 12 months. This clause had been rumored to quietly exist before as well. Very very sneaky, this option.

So that’s the good news.

The bad news is that Maatsen still hasn’t budged from his stance as far as his long-term future is concerned, and has apparently rejected not one but two new contract offers from us.

Maatsen has made an appearance in all but two of our games so far this season, but only two of those eight appearances have been starts (both in the League Cup) and he therefore has just 250 minutes to his name. According to the report, Maatsen is waiting to see how that role evolves (i.e. whether it improves) before making any decision over this long-term future.

But at least now he won’t be walking away for free in June.