The teenager has been a mainstay in Andy Myers’s side, who remain unbeaten in Premier League 2 and sit at the top of the table after 18 matches. Defender Maatsen, still eligible to play for the Under-18s, most recently captained the side to victory at Stamford Bridge in the FA Youth Cup win over Millwall.

‘I’m very happy to have signed a new contract at this club,' he told the official Chelsea website after putting pen to paper on a new deal that runs until at least summer 2024. 'The journey continues and I already can’t wait to get the next season started once we have finished this one.'

Maatsen made his debut at Stamford Bridge in the 7-1 win over Grimsby in the Carabao Cup tie in September.

‘I’m properly settled here at Chelsea,’ the 17-year-old admitted. ‘I have good houseparents [who he lives with], good team-mates and friends here. My language is good now – I’m really settled.

‘The season for me has been quite good. In the Academy, we were unlucky to not progress in the UEFA Youth League but I was very happy to make my first team debut. Next season I have to keep pushing and give the same performances.

‘We need to make sure we win the FA Youth Cup this year and in the Under-23s league we are unbeaten so we have to make sure we continue the good work.’

Maatsen arrived at Chelsea from PSV Eindhoven in July 2018. Since becoming a Blue, he rapidly formed part of the development squad with a total of 17 appearances in 2018/19 and has already racked up 19 appearances at that level this term.

The defender is next likely to be in action for the development squad when they travel to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn Rovers on the evening of Monday 16 March. You can follow the action via our official @chelseafc twitter account and watch the live stream on the 5th Stand App. Kick-off is 7pm.