There can’t be many people happy to swap a boat in Greece for training in Wolfsburg, but Ian Maatsen was delighted to.
The Chelsea fullback, who spent last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund, had to end his trip to Mykonos with his girlfriend early after getting a call from Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman.
Maatsen was one of the shock omissions from all the squads heading to Euro 2024, but that decision was reversed by Koeman after it emerged that Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong wouldn’t recover from an ankle injury in time for the tournament.
The news of Maatsen’s snub hit the headlines on May 29, just three days before he played in a 2-0 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid, coming off the back of a stellar campaign in Germany.
Maatsen had reason to feel hard done by, having been named in the official Champions League Team of the Season, and De Telegraaf claims he headed straight to Greece to recover.
Relaxing on a Hermes Yacht, which sells for £564,000, the 22-year-old had already posted a picture of his down time basking in the sun.
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Now, though, he’s heading to the Dutch training camp in Wolfsburg with a forecast that’s set to remain wet and grey for the coming weeks.
He also joins a squad likely in some shock, as there were many positive noises that Barcelona’s De Jong would be ready in time for their opener against Poland on Sunday.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the Dutch FA have now said in a statement that Europa League-winning midfielder Teun Koopmeiners will also miss the tournament due to an injury in a friendly against Iceland.
The Dutch may now have to rely on former Liverpool man Georginio Wijnaldum in midfield, despite the 33-year-old being a surprise addition to the squad after stepping away from top level football to join Saudi side Al Ettifaq.
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The Netherlands would have had high hopes of qualifying from Group D which contains France, Austria and Poland, but Ralf Rangnick’s in-form Austria could now cause them all kinds of problems.
