David Bates will return to Hamburg when his loan is up at Sheffield Wednesday, so Garry Monk will have to sign a new centre-back this summer.
The Owls don’t have a budget for new acquisitions, however, so they’ll have to look at loan deals and free transfers when scouring the market for a replacement.
One player who may fit the bill is Matt Miazga – an experienced and in-form defender who’s spent the last 15 months on loan at Reading and is likely to be sent away again by Chelsea next season.
The 24-year-old initially joined Chelsea from NY Red Bulls in 2016 and has gone on to make only two appearances in four years. Competition for places is unsurprisingly fierce at Stamford Bridge, so Miazka has been loaned out to get regular playing time.
As per Transfermarkt, he’s made 72 appearances for Vitesse Arnhem (August 31, 2016 – June 30, 2018), 9 appearances for FC Nantes (August 6, 2018 – January 24, 2019) and 40 appearances for Reading (January 25, 2019 – May 31, 2019) (July 24, 2019 – present). His stint with the Royals is up this summer, so he’ll be free to talk to other clubs if Chelsea decide to loan him out again.
Wednesday should consider a move as he’d be a great addition to their backline. Not only is Bates leaving, Tom Lees has been short of form and the Owls have been porous defensively this season. Wednesday have conceded 24 goals in 12 games since the turn of the year – only Hull City have conceded (29) more – so Miazka is needed.
