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Should Crystal Palace sign this Arsenal loanee in the summer along with two others?
Matt Miazga
Matt Miazga has only made a couple of appearances in the Premier League for Chelsea since his arrival. Although this lack of action is only as expected, you imagine it will still have been disappointing for the youngster given the travails of the Stamford Bridge outfit, as successive managers stuck to the defenders who had failed to perform over the last few months.
The 20-year-old centre-half certainly has potential – this is almost a given for a young player to be recruited by Chelsea – and the essential next step in his development is to play regularly at a good level. This is exactly what Crystal Palace can provide him, and with their existing centre-halves all approaching the twilight of their careers; if not already over the hill, it could be the ideal location for Miazga. Minutes in the first team should be much more achievable and there are likely to be some scenarios when Alan Pardew would favour the youngster’s qualities over those of Damien Delaney for example.
The likes of Delaney and Brede Hangeland have been around the block several times in England, and with their uncompromising approach to defending, this would be a fine grounding for Miazga, allowing him to add to his pre-existing talents and have a lengthy successful career on these shores.
An additional factor that may have originally attracted Miazga to Chelsea is the fact that the club is based in London. This of course would not change with a move south of the river to Crystal Palace, perhaps even allowing him to keep the same accommodation. With the transfer most likely to go through as a loan deal rather than on a permanent basis due to his age and potential, the convenience of this only grows.
In 12 months’ time, we may be charting a similar career path to that of Kurt Zouma. The six months or so that the Frenchman played regular football away from Chelsea after The Blues signed him was integral for his development, paving the way for Miazga to follow suit and then potentially enjoy comparable success back in the Chelsea first team.