Miazga knew the score when he moved there. He'll be loaned out somewhere else this year that'll be a step up from Vitesse, and he'll have a chance to keep on advancing.
I didn't know about the Espanyol situation. In that case, Vitesse didn't need him and were doing Chelsea a favour. Chelsea would pay all the wages, and possibly any accommodation and transportation allowances as well. The lad's done extra-well then IMO. IIRC he was knocking on the door before the other guy got injured, raised his game when he got the starting position, kept the fourth CB on the bench and his place when the injured guy came back just in time for the biggest game in Vitesse's history. That's a good season by any standards
Yup, he worked on his flaws that kept him out initially and when given the chance he performed. I would say he showed true professionalism.
Off topic, but Sky is reporting on the signing of Christian Atsu to Newcastle for £6.2 million. The 25-year-old joined Chelsea from Porto in 2013, but leaves the recently crowned Premier League champions having never made an appearance for the club. Atsu, capped 42 times by Ghana, has spent time on loan at Vitesse, Everton, Bournemouth and Malaga. If that is a typical path for a player struggling to break into the Chelsea squad, then at least we can all be treated to an interesting European adventure for Matt.
Yep, it was good both ways. Vitesse had a smattering of CD injuries. Kashia missed a couple of games in the fall, I think, and vdWerff obviously. And Fraser was able to keep Kruiswijk at LB since MM stepped up. Dunno if Vitesse would have been as steady if they'd had to slide Kruis or someone else inside. Good year for MM, I think.
What is Miazga on the Chelsea depth chart? 7th? 1) Luiz 2) Azpilicueta 3) Cahill 4) Zouma 5) Aké 6) Christensen 7) Miazga/Tofori? Regardless, I think a loan to Germany or a bottom half Premier League team would be a good move for him at this point.
So far he plays 1st league soccer in a Top 10 league, I'm ok. I just hope he doesn't go to the Championship. Most of those games are not even broadcast.
Ought to go back to Vitesse IMO. Two-thirds of a season, even if he played well, in the Eredivisie doesn't necessarily mean that a player is already good enough for the EPL or BL1, and that applies in spades to Eredivisie defenders. What's the benefit of him slogging it out in the Championship/BL2 ,or being depth rather than rotator in EPL/ BL1?. Vitesse and the coach know him and what he's capable of. He could well start pre-season as the-man-in-possession, EL games will mean a lot more rotation of the squad and more chances for PT anyway, and - depending on the draw - the EL games will give him a chance to test himself against higher-level competition than he'll get if he goes to an English or German club. Step up a gear this season, and the EPL/BL1 loans will come.
Looking at how Chelsea defended against Arsenal yesterday, MM wouldnot have been a pain in the .. if he would have played. Arsenal was very wastefull with their chances.
I would like to see him play another season with Vitesse. Hopefully he can establish himself as an unquestionable started on a Europa League team.
^THIS Going into a WC year this is a most. A move to a bigger club (say mid-tier) in a bigger league might be too big of a risk for now. He starts for Vitesse and proves he's 1 of the best defenders in the league. It will pay off for the 2018 season, not to mention securing him a WC spot.
For those who love graphics: https://experimental361.com/2017/05/29/scatter-graphics-eredivisie-201617/
It's not clear to me that he would be a first choice at Vitesse. I think he's clearly now in the top three for the team, but his PT was largely due to injury. He's a good player and I suspect Vitesse would be happy to have him back, but I don't think that would come with guarantees that he will start most matches.
I think Kashia is under contract until 2020, and I think van der Werff goes through 2019. Assuming vdW returns from injury to his early season form, I think it would be an interesting 3-way battle. But with Europa and some cup games, he would get his chances. I have no idea who would win.
True. But any move further up to table comes with far less guarantees. He could be a 4th CB at Ajax. With Vitesse he's adapted to his teammates/tactics and he has Europa League/cup matches also to get PT
True and, as @freisland notes above, there will be lots of matches to go around and certainly will be squad rotation. Just sayin' that people here shouldn't assume he's an automatic member of the First XI at Vitesse - I suspect he is not.
If that's the case, then he definitely should shoot for higher than Vitesse. If he's possibly going to be a backup/rotational player getting opportunities due to fixture congestion + injuries, simply because he's a loanee (he was arguably already their best overall player, at a young age), then he should at least do it w/ higher upside at a Champion's League club such as Ajax, Bundesliga one like Werder, or at least French/Europa League such as Lyon. That would represent progress. Returning to Vitesse would mean stagnation in his career which has already had some recently. He'll get more credit from Chelsea/a prospective new club he'd finally permanently transfer to if he progresses beyond Vitesse.
I've the feeling you misunderstand the posts about his position. No one is stating he's going to be a back burner because he's an on loan player. If that would have been the attitude of the club or staff, they wouldnot have bothered to invest time and effort to remedy his flaws. They didnot need him, but yet they did and hey, lucky for both Vitesse and MM it payed dividends as unexpectedly injuries hit the back line. It is stated he will face stiff competition next season when everybody is fit. Nothing more nothing less. He will have to compete, simple as that. Moving elsewhere that is a higher level isnot going to guarantee him a spot. It will be more competitive than at Vitesse, unless it is a better club that has been playing without a CD.
Another loan (say it's successful), would it be likely that Chelsea keeps him or simply sells him whose currently ahead of him in the pecking order? Brooks, Gonzalez, Besler, Cameron all come to mind. But would Zimmerman or Hedges have the edge over him?
Well, it looks like Ake is most likely on his way out. So, I guess you could bump him up a spot. Not sure if Zouma will stay either, but I imagine he will.
VITESSE: PROS: Fraser now knows him clearly is very comfortable with him. Vitesse will be stretched if they last in Europa and/or domestic cups any distance. Not a team built for multiple competitions/travel. Success at Vitesse is well-followed in England and elsewhere. Lewis Baker, for instance, will have lots of offers after 2 successful seasons at Arnhem if Chelsea don't think they can use him. Miazga got the loan late and took a minute to adjust/understand what Vitesse expected out of him. A new season going in with better sense of Fraser and Vitesse could help him cement a spot he was always competitive for. CONS: Chelsea also places loanees in better leagues/teams, and it might be interesting for MM, if he can get the right slot, to try something different. But I'm not sure he's going to go many places that are demonstrably better than Vitesse/mid-Ered where he will be certain to have a better chance of starting.
This appears to be the Chelsea senior CB depth chart, based on recent first-team role or loan club: 1) Luiz, 16-17 starter 2) Azpilicueta, 16-17 starter 3) Cahill, 16-17 starter 4) Zouma, 15-16 starter before injury, 16-17 sub with a few starts 5) Christensen, 16-17 starter at Gladbach (mid-table BL) 6) Aké, starter at Bournemouth in '16 (mid-table EPL), squad player for Chelsea in '17, could potentially depart 7) Hector, 16-17 starter at Eintracht Frankfurt (mid-table BL) 8) Miazga, 16-17 starter at Vitesse (upper-table Eredivisie) 9) Kalas, 16-17 starter at Fulham (upper-table C'ship) 10) Omeruo, 16-17 starter at Alanyaspor (mid-table Turkish Süper Lig) 11) Tomori, spot starter at Brighton in '17 (upper-table C'ship, promoted) 12) Clarke-Salter, starter at Bristol Rovers in '16 before injury (mid-table League One)