Chelsea’s Matt Miazga must seize the opportunity of his first Vitesse start

Chelsea loanee Matt Miazga has spent most of his spell at Vitesse on the bench, costing him his place on the US Men’s National Team. An injury to another Vitesse defender may provide the opening he needs.

Vitesse defender Maikel van der Werff suffered a meniscus tear in training and will undergo surgery today. Van der Werff’s absence opens the door for Chelsea loanee Matt Miazga to make his long-awaited starting XI debut for Vitesse.

Miazga has watched the first two months of his season pass him by. He made his first appearance on September 25, notching an assist in a Vitesse loss. He follow that with two more substitute appearances. Meanwhile, his Chelsea B teammate Lewis Baker has four league goals and four goals in his last four matches in all competitions.

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Miazga’s inactivity on loan cost him his spot in the US Men’s National Team during the most recent international break. USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsman pointed to Miazga’s lack of playing time and need for development for his exclusion from the side.

"We are waiting for him to take a starting role in his new environment, in his new club… Once he is in a starting position and he gets games week in, week out, hopefully we get him in the flow and then down the road he will be back with the senior national team. – HITC Sport"

Miazga is in very real danger of his development and his career stalling out. Chelsea sent him on loan so he could gain experience from consistent playing time. If he does not get that at Vitesse, he will never have the chance at Chelsea.

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He is locked in a spiral that is familiar to any entry-level job seeker. He does not have enough experience to earn a spot on the pitch. But until he gets that chance, he will never build the experience. With Vitesse and the USMNT not providing playing time, Miazga is almost dependent on injuries to his teammates to scrounge minutes.

Much like Chelsea’s back-benchers, Matt Miazga will need to capitalize on every opportunity he receives. Victor Moses proved his case for inclusion in Chelsea’s starting XI. He is now on the verge of being a regular starter. Michy Batshuayi and Pedro also put in substantial performances off the bench and in the EFL Cup. They left Antonio Conte with difficult decisions about how and when to include them.

Miazga cannot afford to give Vitesse, Klinsman or – ultimately – Chelsea – any excuse to overlook him. He needs to play strong enough to keep van der Werff off the pitch even after his return from injury. At the very least, he must not make the sort of mistakes (cough cough, Swansea City) that would impel Vitesse to reach even deeper down their substitutes list.

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Breaking into Chelsea’s lineup is already a nearly impossible task for Matt Miazga. Andreas Christensen, Jake Clarke-Salter and Kurt Zouma are the back-three of Chelsea’s future. Miazga cannot let them get any further ahead of him in the pecking order. If he does, he can count on Vitesse being only the first of many loans before Chelsea figures out what to do with him.