After two years at Vitesse where, after a slow-ish start, he put the left-centre back job on lockdown, Matt Miazga has now mastered the song and dance of the Chelsea loan army. He’s ready to graduate, believing that he can prove himself at Chelsea and win the job at his parent club next season.
Three seasons ago Chelsea bought the lanky defender from New York Red Bulls in a move that surprised just about everybody. Interim manager Guus Hiddink handed him two starts. The first was quite decent. But he was yanked at half-time of the second one, against Swansea, after getting a yellow card and generally looking out of his depth. He’s not seen the pitch again for Chelsea since.
The next season he was loaned to Vitesse, where has has steadily improved his game, earned a recall to the US Men’s National Team, and even wore the captain’s armband on one occasion. He’s added a fair bit of bulk to his frame along the way, while also working on his mental attributes.