Drinkwater warned he will warm the bench
DANNY DRINKWATER has been warned by several experienced voices that joining Chelsea would be the wrong move. But it makes sense for both parties. At £35million, for one of the stars of Leicester’s amazing Premier League triumph two seasons ago – with a third Chelsea offer due to go in today – the switch to Stamford Bridge on the face of it looks a strange one.
Chelsea legend Ray Wilkins and Drinkwater’s former Manchester United team-mate Phil Neville believe he should stay where he is or go somewhere else.
As the transfer deadline looms, with Chelsea looking to bring at least three other players besides Drinkwater into the club, the Stamford Bridge midfield already looks a crowded place.
Gone are Nemanja Matic and Nathaniel Chalobah, but still surely in front of Drinkwater will be Cesc Fabregas, N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Wilkins said: “Danny has done really well over the last couple of years. If he comes to Chelsea, Tiemoue Bakayoko has cost £40million, everybody loves Kante – is he going to get a game with Fabregas as well?
“If I was Danny I’d go somewhere where I would play.”
Neville said: “I’m not sure he will go straight into the team. Chelsea do need a little bit of a spine of English players. They lost Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Chalobah has left, John Terry has left, so the nucleus of the squad is foreign players.
“Everton’s Ross Barkley, once fit, can make an impact at that football club because I think Cesc Fabregas in certain games will struggle to play. But Drinkwater is just a squad signing for me.”
Apart from the obvious fact of wages, with Drinkwater likely to increase his Leicester deal of £90,000-a-week to £120,000 over a five-year contract, there are other reasons why he handed in a transfer request on Monday in order to force through this move today.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte told his board at the end of last season that he would like two players for each position in his squad. That is why, with Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain having turned them down for the right wing-back role Conte is desperate to have cover for, Chelsea were in talks with Bayern Munich over Rafinha, and with Southampton over Cedric Soares.
And equally why a £15m deal for Swansea striker Fernando Llorente was poised to go through.
With a Champions League campaign looming, Conte wants cover.
Drinkwater may not get in ahead of Fabregas, Kante and Bakayoko in every game but the 27-year-old will get matches, especially if Chelsea progress from a tough Champions League group. Conte wants an experienced man who can be dropped straight into the action when needed and the Leicester man fits the bill.
TONY BANKS