Chelsea opinion – Should Sarri offload Danny Drinkwater?

According to a report in Sun (h/t Calciomercato), new AS Roma manager Claudio Ranieri could make a move for frozen out Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater in the summer. The duo has worked together at Leicester City, where they defied all the odds to win the Premier League in 2016.

The 29-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2017, when Antonio Conte was in charge of the club. The Blues paid around £35m to get the services of the Englishman.

However, he didn’t play much under the Italian, neither has he been a part the first-team under Maurizio Sarri this season. As a result of that, the midfielder has just been a squad name in the Chelsea setup, without contributing on the pitch.

He might play football games again as his former boss Ranieri, who recently got appointed by Roma, wants a reunion with the player in the Serie A. Here’s why that move would suit all parties involved, including Chelsea:

A player at cul-de-sac should be offloaded

The way Drinkwater has been kept out of any sort of plans at Chelsea under Sarri, it makes sense that the player would be better off offloaded as early as the summer.

He is currently earning £100k-a-week without even making the matchday squads in the Premier League games. Hence, by opening the exit door, they would be able to lighten the wage bill.

From the player’s viewpoint, he was one of the key players in Leicester’s title-winning squad in 2016 and he must have been dreaming of big things when he arrived at Stamford Bridge the following year. However, things have unravelled in the wrong direction.

At 29, he still has time to reignite his career. There won’t be a better way to do it than by reuniting with the manager with whom he won the Premier League.

Ranieri could make a move for the midfielder as he seeks for Daniele de Rossi’s replacement at Roma. Hence, the Italian club could get a quality player in Drinkwater, while the Englishman would get to work with the Italian and re-launch his playing career in a positive direction.

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Conclusion

All in all, Danny Drinkwater moving to AS Roma and leaving Chelsea would make everyone happy from the outside.

It won’t harm the Blues in terms of their squad building, while the Italians would get a good player. Drinkwater, who hasn’t been playing first-team football, may get a chance to play on a regular basis.