Ian Maatsen's dad shows touching dedication to his son with brilliant gesture after Chelsea defender was late call-up to Dutch squad at Euro 2024 while on yacht off Mykonos

Ian Maatsen's father was forced into action after the Chelsea defender received a surprise late call-up to join his native Netherlands at Euro 2024.

After struggling for minutes at Stamford Bridge, Maatsen spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund.

At the Signal Iduna Park Maatsen made an immediate impact, playing every minute of the club's Champions League campaign from the knockout stages, including their agonising 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the final.

Maatsen's was rewarded for his performances with a place in the Ronald Koeman's provisional 30-man squad for the upcoming tournament, but he was later cut as the ex-Everton boss whittled his team down for the finals.

Dejected from the news, Maatsen and his girlfriend, Emely Tuinder, jetted off to the Greek island of Mykonos and were pictured relaxing on a yacht reportedly worth more than £500,000.

The spell in the sun would ultimately prove short-lived however, with Koeman recalling Maatsen to his squad after Teun Koopmeiners was forced out through injury.

The 22-year-old subsequently rushed to join up with his teammates ahead of their Group D opener with Poland on Sunday.

Determined to ensure his son was fully equipped to make an immediate impact, Maatsen's father Edward reportedly then drove six hours from his home in Vlaardingen to the team's camp in Germany, delivering Maatsen's boots and other personal items in time for training.

'Ian first wanted to come first to the Netherlands, but that didn't seem like a good idea to us,' he told reporters.

'We know that as a family member you are always involved, this European Championship is the icing on the cake. 

'As a parent you are very proud and do everything you can to keep it on track and to keep everything around it as stable as possible.'

Despite representing the Netherlands at multiple youth levels, Maatsen is still yet to make his senior international debut.

The Blues academy graduate was named in Koeman's squad for a pair of Euro 2024 qualifiers back in September, but was not called on from the bench.

In addition to losing Atalanta midfielder Koopmeiners, the Netherlands also suffered a major blow earlier this week as Frenkie de Jong revealed he had been forced to pull out due to injury.

The Barcelona star had been on the sidelines since April after suffering an ankle injury against Real Madrid, but was selected with the hope he would recover in time to feature.

However, despite training alongside his teammates on Sunday, De Jong revealed his 'ankle needs more time' and that he would have to 'cheer for our team from the sidelines.'