VINTAGE CLARET

Deep chats with Kompany have got me flying again, says Maatsen

- SIMON MULLOCK

BURNLEY’S flying Dutch fullback Ian Maatsen has thanked manager Vincent Kompany for putting his career back on track. 

Maatsen has been a revelation for the Clarets under Kompany, who has been guiding Burnley towards an instant return to the Premier League since persuading the 20-year-old to join him at Turf Moor on a year-long loan from Chelsea.

Two previous temporary moves away from Stamford Bridge did not go as planned, especially a season spent at Charlton in 2020-21, when jealous team-mates and the Covid pandemic made it tough to fit in.

Maatsen said: “In Vincent Kompany we have a great coach – but he is also really important for us all as individuals.

“I have great conversations with him. We sit and talk together quite a lot. We speak in Dutch because it is our mutual language, but on all other occasions it is in English.

“The manager tells me about many things in life that he experienced at a young age.