Following the sale of Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic to Manchester United, speculation is rife that Leicester City’s English international midfielder Danny Drinkwater is lined up to replace Matic at Stamford Bridge.
Drinkwater, 27, has been a pivotal part of the Leicester City team that stunned the footballing world when they won the Premier League in the 2015/16 season. Last season though they were unable to recreate the feat and could only managed 12th in the league, although they did make the quarter-finals of the Champions League, losing out narrowly to Atletico Madrid.
Whilst Drinkwater has been impressive and has made his England international debut on the back of his form for the Foxes, it will be his potential re-association with N’Golo Kante that has caught the imagination of Chelsea boss Antonio Conte – although the signing, should it happen, will not catch the imagination of the Chelsea fans as much, who will see the overall situation as weakening their beloved club, whilst strengthening a big rival, both on the domestic and European stage.
The news may not go down well at Leicester either. With Riyad Mahrez seemingly getting closer to agreeing a deal with AS Roma, after suffering the loss of Kante last season, Foxes fans will see the team that will go down in football folklore slowly getting ripped apart, although they have invested heavily in replacements and are still expected to announce the signing of exciting forward Kelechi Iheanacho from Manchester City.
These signings may not bring a quick return of the Premier League trophy to Leicester, but they look to remain a competitive, steady team capable of consistent top-half finishes more than relegation battles that Foxes fans are much more used to.
DANNY DRINKWATER – 2016/17 PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON STATS
- Appearances : 29
- Goals : 1
- Assists : 1
- Yellow Cards : 8
- Red Cards : 0
- Passes per game : 60.17
- Shots : 31
- Shots On Target : 3