Drinkwater’s return reopens old wound
Shakespeare hits out over move to Chelsea Replacement Silva still awaiting Fifa clearance
Danny Drinkwater will return to Leicester today with his prospective £22 million replacement, Adrien Silva, sitting in the stand and his future up in the air.
Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare has admitted the manner of Drinkwater’s deadline-day exit to Chelsea left him “disappointed”, yet there is further frustration as Silva is not even allowed to train with his new club after the 2016-17 champions missed the deadline to register him by 14 seconds.
Fifa has refused to ratify the Portuguese international’s transfer from Sporting Lisbon and Silva is living in Leicester with brother Jeremy, a fitness instructor, and facing the prospect of being unable to play until January unless the Midlanders can find a solution. Leicester’s anger has only increased after Drinkwater’s £35million sale to Chelsea, with Shakespeare clearly hinting at tension behind the scenes before his exit, with the England international handing in a transfer request to force through the move. “I knew he wanted to leave as soon as Chelsea made their point [the first bid was rejected in early August],” he said. “There is a saying that a lot of things in football will disappoint you but nothing should surprise you. Of course, there isn’t just the club and Danny, there are advisers as well. It can be a complicated web. It shows you that you can’t take anything for granted in football.”
Drinkwater was a key member of the title-winning team, but could face a hostile reception despite his five years of service.
Leicester remain optimistic that Silva will be their player soon, with the Football Association behind the Midlanders in their bid to sign the 28-year-old. But Shakespeare could provide litle clarity, admitting he had never seen a case like it before. “He is not training,” he said. “I feel for the lad. It is a World Cup year and he is in limbo. But he is a strong character. I’m sure he will be fine.”
Though Silva will be unavailable this weekend, Shakespeare is sure Riyad Mahrez will recover quickly from his own deadline-day experience. Mahrez declined to travel with the Algeria team to try to push through a move but, embarrasingly, no club came in for him.
“Riyad has been transparent in our conversations and I have talked to him the last couple of days,” said the manager. “I’m in no doubt of his professionalism and commitment.”