Matt Miazga transfer: winners and losers

Matt Miazga is officially leaving the New York Red Bulls to join BPL side Chelsea. The move comes during the Red Bulls' preseason while Chelsea is looking at finishing their season off strong to avoid relegation a year after winning the BPL title. Now that we've had some time to digest the news since it was first reported earlier this week, let's take a look at how all the parties made out on the deal.

New York Red Bulls: Winners

Miazga was not under contract past the end of the 2016 season. The team made offers to keep him in the US past 2016 but the homegrown player had aspirations of playing in Europe and turned down all offers. If they let him play for the whole season, they would not have gotten anything in return for his leaving. If that sold him on during the summer, they wouldn't have gotten as much as they did now. In selling Miazga during preseason, they maximized the fee that got in return for Miazga.

In addition to the fee received, the Red Bulls also don't have to worry about messing up team chemistry. Miazga was already off with the United States for their January camp. Damien Perrinelle is still returning from his injury and won't be back until April-May. Despite losing an up and coming center back, the team at least don't have to worry about it happening in the middle of their campaign.

Chelsea: Winners

Matt Miazga won't be needed for Chelsea's senior side tomorrow. Chelsea can then afford to develop Matt Miazga though their U-21 side or through a loan to another side. A loan probably won't happen now as most of the European sides are currently in the middle of their seasons. A loan back to MLS seems unlikely as the league only wants full season loans.

While Miazga won't play for the senior side anytime soon, he'll still be a value for Chelsea. Either he'll develop into a starting center back for the London side, or they'll sell him on, most likely for a profit when compared to what they paid for him.

Matt Miazga: Loser (sort of)

He was always going to Europe, it was just a matter of where. At this moment, Chelsea is not the best place for him. Sure, he'll be given playing time in some aspect, but in the short term, it probably won't be what he needs. The U-21 league in England is most likely a step down from playing in MLS, and as mentioned before, he probably won't be loaned out in the short term. His development will probably take a hit.

On top of that, being out of the spotlight won't be good for his standing with the US Men's Team. Tim Ream is the perfect example of this. He left the Red Bulls to join Bolton, who was also in a relegation fight, only to be relegated to the Championship. Despite being Bolton's Player of the Year for two seasons, he hardly gets a sniff with the Men's Team. Miazga is just getting his foot in the door having played with the U-20s, U-23, and senior USMNT sides in 2015.

If Miazga can break out in some way and get senior time, the move will pay off well for him as he'll be able to learn against high quality opponents. In the mean time though, he'll be out of the spot light, just as the US are starting the 2018 World Cup cycle in earnest.