Chelsea and Leicester City finally agreed a reported fee believed to be near £35m on deadline day of the 2017 summer transfer window for the transfer of English international Danny Drinkwater.
To be very honest, when I first saw Drinkwater get linked to us about a month ago after Matic’s sale to Manchester United, I thought it was a bloody joke and that there was no way we would see him in the Blue of Chelsea but as time passed it seemed as if we were seriously in for him. Now lets be honest, after the departures of Loftus-Cheek, Chalobah and Matic we looked very depleted in midfield and definetlty needed to add depth to that area especially ahead of such a busy campaign ahead. We needed an experienced Premier League proven midfielder who could come in and put in a real shift whenever required and Drinkwater fits the bill perfectly here.
Many fans have had mixed reactions to this transfer but in my opinion it all depends on how you look at it. How I look at this is that, there’s no way he’s an automatic starter or is a direct replacent for Matic (who’s Bakayoko). Drinkwater is a proven and combative Premier League winning midfielder who will add depth to our midfield and would be a great option to have on the bench, for rotation or to start whenever required. His experience of winning the league and also of featuring in the Champions League last season could be an invaluable tool for us this season. He’s proven over the last couple of seasons that he’s sound defensively and that he definitely has an eye for a pass; he’s almost like an English Fabregas if you want to put it that way.
Another major plus point of this transfer to the club was that he’s English and would would surely add to our quota for English players. At 27, he’s 2 years younger than Matic and he’s in his prime and by no way could be classified as old, he has a good 4-5 years ahead of him. Another reason why I’m supportive of this deal is because Danny looked eager to join us and to win with us unlike some of the other names we were linked with (Barkley, Ox, etc). I recently saw his interview and I couldn’t have been more impressed with what he had to say.
“It has been a long journey to get here but I am very happy and am looking forward to helping the club win more trophies. I played with N’Golo for a season and there was not really a game I didn’t enjoy playing next to him. I am looking forward hopefully to carrying on where we left off. I think we hit it off from the first game and after that we did not really lose.” – Danny Drinkwater
If you look at this transfer with the right perspective, it makes alot of sense for Chelsea Football Club on all levels. For some reason, I’m just really excited to see him line up next to Kante in our midfield when required and we all know what happened last time these two started together under an Italian manager.
So basically, we’ve added a proven combative 27 year old Premier League winner in his prime to our midfield for cover and most likely as fourth choice, doesn’t sound too bad does it? For fourth choice in midfield, I’m sure we’ve made a great move by signing him and with everything he brings onto the table for us and for how much sense this deal makes, I’d give this transfer a solid 8.5/10.
I would like to welcome Danny Drinkwater to Chelsea Football Club and I wish him all the very best of luck (which he’s going to need for sure) and I can’t wait to see him line up next to Kante sometime soon in our midfield and win loads of silverware together.
Common you Blues!
His a good buy. He adds quality and the English quota in our team not forgetting the experience he brings in.