Manchester City have been linked with a move for Ian Maatsen – a player who was once grateful for a piece of advice he receive from current Etihad defender Nathan Ake.
Maatsen is apparently a player City are now keeping tabs on.
The young left-back only has one year left on his contract at Chelsea.
The Blues are trying to tie him down to a new deal to avoid losing him for fee.
It has been claimed that City are tracking the 21-year-old – and it could that City have a potential trump card to play…
Ian Maatsen knows Nathan Ake, who convinced him to make Burnley loan move and kickstart his career
Maatsen was a revelation for Burnley last season.
MORE MAN CITY STORIES
And it was actually his fellow compatriot Ake who encouraged Maatsen to make that move, which has significantly raised his profile and boosted his development.
Maatsen said (via Mirror) “When it was time to make a decision about staying at Chelsea or moving to a loan club in another division, I sent messages to Nathan Ake.
“He had also been loaned out by Chelsea at the beginning. I asked him about his experiences and he said it had done him good.
“Are you going to play all the games at Chelsea in the Premier League? No you are not. So you have to make sure you get to the top via other ways.
“That was a strong message from Nathan. At Chelsea, I trained with the first team every day. Maurizio Sarri had constant words of praise and Frank Lampard gave me my debut. But I really needed matches.”
Ake could be trump card for City in any Maatsen pursuit
It is interesting to revisit these comments from Maatsen about Ake.
He is clearly grateful to the City defender for helping him to kickstart his career.
Obviously, Maatsen and Ake are both Dutch and have that Chelsea connection, even though they never actually played together.
Potentially, linking up with Ake might just appeal to Maatsen.
If City come calling, perhaps Ake might just prove to be something of an additional lure.