News now: Nottingham Forest: Ian Maatsen could be their own Cancelo

The Tricky Trees may be on track to duplicate Pep Guardiola's accomplishments inside their own group.

Photo showing Ian Maatsen 

Now that one of the Premier League's finest coaches has achieved success, Nottingham Forest may be poised to do likewise.

Who are Nottingham Forest signing this summer?

Steve Cooper's team is coming together nicely now that they have already transformed Chris Wood's temporary move into a permanent one and secured the savvy free-agent signing of Ola Aina. They have also started to trim down their bloated squad.

Space is once again made available for additional summertime spending thanks to the departures of Jesse Lingard, Jack Colback, Lyle Taylor, and a number of loanees.

Ian Maatsen, who was recently mentioned as a reported target of the Tricky Trees, is one such asset who would seamlessly fit into their system. Despite the £15 million price tag reported to lure him away from Chelsea, this would still be a wise investment in such a promising young talent's future.

Fresh off a successful loan season at Burnley, he is prepared to take on the Premier League as Cooper's rampaging wing-back.

How good is Ian Maatsen?

The Dutchman, who is only 21 years old, had a breakout season most recently at Turf Moor, thriving in Vincent Kompany's fluid system and playing a crucial role in their easy Championship promotion.

In all competitions, he would appear 42 times and contribute to ten goals with the defense. For comparison, he would have tied for third place at Stamford Bridge last season with his four league goals, placing him.

Maatsen would quickly start pressing forward and inverting to move into positions where he could truly exert his will on the game, despite frequently starting games at left-back.

A similar capacity to do so from that specific side immediately brings comparisons to Joao Cancelo, who did so admirably for a number of years while playing for Manchester City, gradually popularizing a role that peaked during the 2021/22 season.

According to Sofascore, the Portugal international maintained a 7.33 league average rating that season thanks to his eight goal contributions, 1.1 critical passes, and 2.3 tackles per game.

Photo showing Joao Cancelo

For comparison, according to Sofascore, Maatsen's own past season in the Championship average rating was 7.07, and he also managed one crucial throw, 1.4 interceptions, and 1.9 tackles per game.

Simon Moore, the goalkeeper at Coventry City, tried to highlight the positive aspects of such an exceptional loan period, saying, "The kid is bright, he's hugely talented, he wants to learn, and he never gives up."

His desperate attempts to advance the play are further demonstrated by his underlying statistics. According to FBref, the Netherlands U21 international ranks among the top 13% of full-backs in Europe for non-penalty goals per 90, top 6% for progressive passes per 90, and top 4% for progressive carries per 90.

As one of the top coaches who first made the inverted full-back prominent on the international arena, Pep Guardiola is responsible for its widespread use. His praise for Cancelo serves to clarify exactly what is required of someone playing in such position: "Defensively, he needs to be consistent at times, but when he is, his focus is excellent. He plays football and is a great guy.

With his entire career in front of him, Maatsen excellently embodies these all-around skills, and the future is bright for the dynamic attacking menace.

He may support Cooper's way of thinking by supplying Taiwo Awoyini and Morgan Gibbs-White with that firepower from the left flank for yet another successful campaign.

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