Chelsea in hunt for Drinkwater after Barkley pulls out
CHELSEA were last night scrambling to rescue a transfer for Leicester’s Danny Drinkwater after moves for Ross Barkley and Fernando Llorente collapsed. The Premier League champions had agreed a deal worth £35million with Everton for Barkley in the hours before the deadline and the midfielder had travelled to London. Barkley, who has also been the subject of interest from Tottenham, agreed personal terms and it was then claimed he had taken a medical before he went cold on the idea of moving to Stamford Bridge. Sources close to the England international insist he never went as far as taking a medical at Cobham and wants to consider his position in January when he will have six months left on his contract. Chelsea will look to resurrect a move at a lower price but there is no guarantee he will want to move to Stamford Bridge, particularly with Tottenham having pursued him all summer. Mauricio Pochettino is a firm admirer of the 23-year-old. Barkley suffered a hamstring injury two weeks ago and will be out until November.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri said: ‘The two clubs agreed a deal of £35m. I think personal terms were agreed and after the medical, we heard from his agent that Ross changed his mind and wanted to reconsider his position in January. It is a big surprise but that is football.’ Having seen moves for Romelu Lukaku, Danilo and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hijacked by Premier League rivals, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will have been exasperated by the club’s failure to seal key signings. There was solace to be found in a £25m deal for Torino wing-back Davide Zappacosta, who arrived yesterday for a medical. He agreed a four-year contract worth £45,000 a week after tax. Chelsea also continued to pursue Drinkwater. Having had two bids rejected, they returned with a bid worth in excess of £30m. However, the clubs were still battling to get the deal over the line and had applied for an extension until 1am to get a deal done, with Leicester pushing for closer to £40m.
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