Aston Villa are close to signing Ian Maatsen after agreeing a deal worth £37.5 million with Chelsea but must still convince the left-back to make the move.
Chelsea have granted Villa permission to speak with Maatsen, who is on international duty with Holland at the European Championship.
Maatsen had a £35m release clause in his Chelsea contract, but Villa have agreed to pay slightly more in order to secure a more favourable payment schedule.
It is expected that Holland will allow the defender to speak with Villa remotely on video call, with head coach Unai Emery hoping to conclude a deal.
Maatsen spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund, where he had been keen to stay, but the German club have so far indicated they are not able to match Chelsea’s valuation.
Chelsea remain in talks to sign striker Jhon Duran from Villa, but also have other targets in the position, including Atletico Madrid’s Samu Omorodion and Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke.
Villa and Chelsea have held talks over a number of players, with the Midlands club also expressing an interest in midfielder Conor Gallagher.
With profit and sustainability rules affecting all clubs, Villa had indicated that they would only sign a player from Chelsea if Duran moves to Stamford Bridge in a deal worth up to £40m.
It remains to be seen whether Chelsea will press ahead with a move for Duran, or whether a different Villa player could move to London should Maatsen agree to join Emery’s squad.
Maatsen reached the final of the Champions League during his half-season at Dortmund and produced a series of good performances for the German club.
But Dortmund refused to trigger the clause in Maatsen’s contract and do not want to match his valuation, which has opened the door for Villa to make their move.
Signing Maatsen would most likely mean at least one of Alex Moreno and Lucas Digne leaving Villa, while the club remain in talks with Juventus over Douglas Luiz’s proposed exit that would see players move in the opposite direction. And Everton have made an approach to sign 20-year-old midfielder Tim Iroegbunam.