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Report: Matt Miazga in line for loan move to Caen

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Matt Miazga may be in line for a loan move to Ligue 1 side Caen, NBC Sports reported.

Caen finished 16th in the Ligue 1 table last year, just one point above the relegation zone.

The 23-year-old U.S. Men’s National Team defender started his professional career as a Homegrown player with the New York Red Bulls before moving to English Premier League side Chelsea in January 2016.

Miazga made his debut for Chelsea in April 2016, filling in for an injured John Terry during Chelsea’s 4-0 victory over Aston Villa. The USMNT centerback made only one other appearance for Chelsea before being sent on loan to Duch side Vitesse, where he made 55 appearances and scored four goals across all competitions.

Miazga has seven caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team. His lone international goal came during the 2017 Gold Cup in a 3-0 win over Nicaragua.

Comments

  1. I think it’s time people update their beliefs about what a transfer to a big-money European team means for an MLS prospect. Deep pocketed clubs like Chelsea, Man City, Spurs, etc. are now much more “asset merchants” than buy-and-hold investors. They openly buy players they have no expectation of ever using as first-team players Literally none. They rarely have first team plans for a guy who cost less than $20 million, save for homegrown academy products (and only the truly exceptional ones). They are in it for value appreciation only. In fact, the only way the player ever makes the first team is more likely to be through a re-purchase down the road (if he is highly successful) than actually working his way through organically. It simply isn’t part of the investment thesis. Don’t kid yourself.
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    So is this bad? Really, I would argue no — not compared to our existing situation anyway. In practice, these European “merchant clubs” are effectively replacing the agent in terms of finding homes for players to earn minutes and showcase their value. And having seen the ridiculous inadequacy of some agents in facilitating European moves (remember the Juan Agudelo debacle? Eddie Johnson? Brek Shea? Bill Hamid? )
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    Sure this will likely mean a series of loans. But so what? The parent clubs are wholly incentivized to see that the players spend as much time “in the shop window” as possible. They have wide networks throughout the continent and can source opportunities for playing time and development better than most agents (and can spare the loanee the cost/risk of the transfer fee). And if a player can’t find a long-term buyer/home after 3-4 cycles of this in Europe, you know what? Probably he wasn’t good enough. And at any rate, MLS will take him right back at a reasonable fee (or in some cases none). The player gets to build up their experience and probably returns home to a much nicer salary than he could’ve commanded coming through the ranks
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    So who loses here? Hard to say….. probably only MLS actually. And there are ways they can make this system work better for them, particularly by negotiating less naively.

    Reply
    • The likely arc for Miazga is that, if he does well in France, he plays a couple of seasons there, Chelsea plays him in some pre-season games, or maybe keeps him as a bench player for a year, playing him in Cup games. Then they sell him to a mid table EPL club and he can be the next Geoff Cameron. That’s good for Miazga and good for the USMNT.

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  2. Should have stayed in mls. He will bounce around until the end of contract. This is the ridiculous part of european soccer

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    • Really don’t like that scared, woe is me attitude. He should push himself. However, ideally he should have gone to a club that is interested in developing players in their system rather than acquiring and farming out a huge number youth number of players ( a la Chelsea).

      That being said, he needs to play rather than just sitting with the reserve team and this is best option he has.

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    • Is it ridiculous when you are paid several times more than he would be getting in MLS? Don’t hate on the guy when he’s making multiples of his MLS salary.

      It would have been ridiculous had he remained in MLS and everyone forgot about him like the George John guy at FC Dallas. Is he even playing these days after moving to West Ham?

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    • As long as Matt Miazga is playing consistently on loan in top flight Euro leagues, he’s learning and improving himself as a footballer. Eventually some Euro club which wants Miazga’s permanent services is going to buy his contract from Chelsea. As a USMNT fan, this is a positive player development.

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    • The French league is superior to MLS. Playing there at age 23 is something to be celebrated, not denigrated. Bocanegra played there several seasons and was a valuable part of the national team while he played there.

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    • A year in Holland and a year in France as a pro soccer player in his early 20s. What horror will be next? Yes, clearly an awful situation.

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