Aston Villa defender Ian Maatsen played a pivotal role in helping the Netherlands U21s advance to the semi-finals of the European Championship.
The 23-year-old enjoyed a positive debut season with Villa this past year, making 45 appearances across all competitions while scoring two goals and providing two assists to go with his defensive work.
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He did find it difficult to displace Lucas Digne as Unai Emery’s first-choice left-back, but towards the end of the campaign, there was arguably a shift from the Villa boss towards the Dutchman, and so he’ll be eager to build on that over the summer and start next season as our top man in that position.
He’s continuing that process with the Netherlands U21s for now, and not only did Maatsen provide the assist for the late winning goal as they advanced to the semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Portugal, but the Villa ace also played an important part in keeping a clean sheet which in turn earned him the Player of the Match award.
While ideally Maatsen would have had a long summer to rest and recover after a gruelling campaign with Villa, participating in this tournament will no doubt give him valuable experience and an opportunity to continue to develop and improve as a player at a high level in big games.
In turn, it’s a real boost to see the Netherlands doing so well, and it’s hoped that our defensive star can continue to play a decisive role in their bid for success in the upcoming week.
Speculation has been rife over the future of Lucas Digne this summer as the Villa man has just 12 months remaining on his current contract, and in the absence of any tangible signs or indications that he is potentially close to signing a renewal, he could be on the move with Villa needing to replace him to ensure we maintain a strong level of competition in that department.
That said, should an exit materialise for the Frenchman, that would surely open the door for Maatsen to become our clear first-choice left-back next season, and it’s hoped that having had time to settle, adapt and integrate into Emery’s plans and way of playing, coupled with his experience at international level this summer, he will be raring to go when he returns for pre-season training next month.
🅰️ Key assist
⛔️ Clean sheet
Classy Ian Maatsen 🇳🇱#U21POTM | @OnsOranje pic.twitter.com/Wjb0VSjJDB
— UEFA Men’s Youth (@UEFAMensYouth) June 21, 2025
😮💨 pic.twitter.com/5EIkUjWfQK
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) June 21, 2025
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