Rangers missed out on signing former Chelsea and Burnley defender now preparing for CL final says ex boss

Borussia Dortmund reached the Champions League Final after overcoming PSG last night - but one of the German club’s rising star’s could have ended up plying his trade for Rangers, it has been claimed.

The Bundesliga giants, who ran out 2-0 aggregate winners over the star-studded French outfit, to book their spot in next month’s final will face either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid at Wembley for European football's biggest prize.

And one player who has helped spearhead Dortmund’s incredible charge to the final is left-back Ian Maatsen, who has snapped up from Premier League giants Chelsea. The 22-year-old - who arrived at Signal Iduna Park on loan in January - is now preparing for the biggest game of his career, but his career could’ve taken a different path had a former Ibrox boss got his way in the summer of 2022.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has revealed he failed in a bid to bring Maatsen to Glasgow. The former Netherlands Under-21 international had just come off an impressive domestic campaign with Coventry City and was back at parent club Chelsea to review his next move away from Stamford Bridge.

He opted for a switch to Burnley, helping the Yorkshire outfit gain promotion back to the English Premier League - but Maatsen could have been turning out in the royal blue of Rangers instead according to van Bronckhorst, who was chasing his signature at the time.

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Some Gers fans were left questioning why van Bronckhorst didn't bring any Dutch players to the club during his 12-month reign, but it now appears he wanted to land Maatsen before being dismissed from his role in November 2022. Appearing on Dutch TV channel RTL as a pundit, van Bronckhorst revealed the player was on his wishlist. He said: “I pay extra attention to players in my old position. Maatsen was on the list when I was still at Rangers. I was very charmed by him. That didn’t work out in the end, but he is a player with a lot of drive, someone who always looks forward and is also becoming stronger defensively. He is now also scoring goals and that is certainly very nice to watch."

Maatsen's stock has risen hugely since getting his big break with Dortmund, emerging as a standout performer after hitting the ground running along with other arrivals Felix Nmecha, Marcel Sabitzer and Niclas Fullkrug. Manchester City have been linked with a summer move, and a bumper transfer looks increasingly likely despite penning a new deal with Chelsea under 2026 prior to making the move to Germany on a temporary basis. It's understood Maatsen has a £35million release clause in his contract, a fee that Dortmund said to be willing to meet to tie him down on a permanent basis.