Matt Miazga to Chelsea: Making Sense of the Move

In the next 24 hours Matt Miazga is expected to join the Chelsea Blues before the end of the transfer window. Miazga has left the U.S. January training camp, presumably to complete a physical and contract talks at Stamford Bridge. This has been a quickly developing story that has huge implications for Miazga, the New York Red Bulls and in turn the US Men’s National Team.

According to The Daily Mail Chelsea will reportedly pay New York a 5 million dollar transfer fee to sign the 20 year old American international.

Miazga joined NYRB in 2009 as a Home Grown player and has developed into one of the best center backs in the MLS at a very young age. Chelsea was chasing him back in 2009 but he chose to come to New York instead. It was only a matter of time until Chelsea got their man though.

To each party though this move means different things:

Matt Miazga:

To Miazga this is a move that is crucial for his continued development as a player. He has grown as a player while in New York but to reach his true potential as a player being around a world class training program such as the one at Chelsea will be amazing for him and the US Men’s National Team. He may not be a key player for Chelsea right now but after a successful loan spell, probably to a championship side Miazga will gain the experience needed to compete for a rotational spot on Chelsea’s aging back line.

Chelsea:

For Chelsea this is a break from their standard transfer policy where they either sign an established star or sign a young talent to a position of strength (mainly attackers). In the long run for the Blues this shift is a good thing. Mixing in a young player like Miazga with established stars like John Terry and Gary Cahill will be an awesome learning experience.

Also, Miazga and Kurt Zouma could be a strong pairing on the Chelsea back line for years to come. This is the kind of low risk transfer that Chelsea needs to sure up defensive weaknesses. It’s more of a signing for the future than right now but, its a good signing overall.

New York Red Bulls:

On the surface it seems like New York is the odd man out in this transfer situation given that they are losing a key player but that’s not the case. They had to sell Miazga now or risk losing him for free to Europe during the summer transfer window. Given that urgency they were able to extract a pretty sizable transfer fee that can be used to replace Miazga.

The 5 million that they recieved for Miazga is higher than their actual salary cap (thanks MLS). New York can utilize the cash to invest in a Designated Player center back such as Nemanja Vidić or they can figure out another way to sure up the back line and other areas on the team as a whole.

This transfer is a great move for MLS as a whole too. It shows that big clubs do have faith in the development capabilities of the league and are willing to sign some of our best young talent. While some people may view it is poaching the move shouldn’t be viewed in that light. Only time will tell how good this move is for each party.