Aston Villa agree a deal for Chelsea defender

The deal is reported to be for a fee in the region of £35 million, according to David Ornstein of The Athletic.

Rumours have been circulating for weeks regarding the Jhon Duran situation. One of the possible scenarios behind the deal would see Duran transfer to Chelsea with Villa getting a player in return, with names such as Maatsen and Gallagher being mentioned.

At this moment in time it appears that an agreement regarding Jhon Duran's switch to Stamford Bridge has hit a stumbling block due to the players wage demands and attitude problem. Therefore, it currently looks like Villa have simply agreed a fee for Maatsen outright.

Maatsen spent last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund and impressed everyone with his performances in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Having joined the club in January Maatsen went on to make 16 appearances in yellow and black, starting 15 of those. He was also a crucial part of the side in guiding Dortmund to the Champions League final, scoring a superb goal in their quarter final against Atletico Madrid.

This is exactly the kind of quality that Villa will have been looking to bring in in an attempt to upgrade players in a number of positions. Alex Moreno is rumoured to be wanting a return to his Spanish homeland this summer, which would leave Maatsen and Digne competing for the left-back spot.

The slight concern for Villa fans reacting to this breaking news is the PSR situation. It is clear that Villa need to raise funds ahead of the PSR deadline on 30th June, hence why the club are looking to sell a number of players like Douglas Luiz, Jhon Duran, Matty Cash and Tim Iroegbunam. However, some of these deals seem to be taking time to complete and it may be a push to get them completed by the end of the month. It has been rumoured that Villa could face a points deduction should it be found that the club haven't raised the funds required to meet the Profit and Sustainability Rules.

UTV