Chelsea close to sending center-back on loan to Espanyol — report

Chelsea and United States center-back Matt Miazga is close to finalizing a loan move to La Liga side Espanyol according to Sports Illustrated.

The 21-year-old New Jersey native joined the Premier League powerhouses in January of last year. While, he was able to crack the club’s starting XI a few times at the end of the season, it was mostly due to them having a very poor season and being out of any important races or competitions.

Miazga didn’t exactly shine in his few opportunities but he didn’t embarrass himself either. He just didn’t do enough to win over Chelsea hearts and thus fell back down the pecking order once others got healthy.

This season, the U.S. international didn’t get any minutes and only received a few measly runouts during preseason, making it obvious he wasn’t in new manager Antonio Conte’s plans.

A move to La Liga would be a very interesting one. Not many Americans get to test themselves in what many consider to be the best league in the world these days. It should be quite the picture to see him trying to defend the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Antoine Griezmann.

What do you think of this move? Will Miazga do well in Spain?