Ian Maatsen: Borussia Dortmund's Bright Spark

Playstyle

Since joining Borussia Dortmund, Ian Maatsen has solidified his position as their starting left-back.

Under the guise of Edin Terzić, Maatsen has been allowed to roam forward and create key chances in the final third and contribute in an attacking sense.

Compared to Ramy Bensebaini, Ian Maatsen is able to roam forward without leaving too many gaps in defence and this has helped Dortmund to be more secure defensively.

In this sense, Bensebaini is more of a traditional full-back with the emphasis being on solidity in defence.

Despite this, Borussia Dortmund have only conceded two goals since Maatsen's introduction to the BVB defence which proves he has the capabilities to provide stability when defending.

Positioning

As you can see from the heatmap below, Maatsen often sits deeper when defending but roams forward and occupies a winger role when pushing forward.

Temperament

Ian Maatsen is definitely a player that likes to get stuck into challenges and tackles and on occasion this may get him into trouble. He picks up many yellow cards and already has sustained three yellows during this short stint at Dortmund.

However, as long as this passion and desire does not get out of hand and become a consistent issue, this should not be a problem for Borussia Dortmund.

Conclusion

Lastly, through all this it can be seen that Ian Maatsen has been a valuable asset for Borussia Dortmund and has forced summer signing Ramy Bensebaini out of the team.

Despite this, Borussia Dortmund do only have the player until the end of the Bundesliga season on loan without a buy option. Additionally, it has been reported that Chelsea signed Maatsen onto a new deal before departing which included a large €35 million release clause.

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