Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater was the both the buzzer beater and the booster shot that Chelsea FC’s summer transfer window needed. It was a very up and down window, featuring plenty of misses on their top targets, but overall the end result was okay.
Deadline day, and the couple days that preceded it brought a lot of bad news to Stamford Bridge, but when you look at the final tally on paper, it’s not too bad. Drinkwater joins N’Golo Kante as the second key player from Leicester’s 2015-16 championship midfield to join Chelsea.
Drinkwater was an 11th hour addition too, with this transfer not becoming official until well after the deadline closed. He signs a five year deal, with a transfer fee worth £35 million.
Danny Drinkwater is a Chelsea player! ?#WelcomeDrinks https://t.co/DpMohkJaPr
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 1, 2017
The details were finalized late Thursday night, and Chelsea sent out a release with the official statements just three hours ago.
Statement attributed to Drinkwater reads: ‘I’m delighted to be a Chelsea player and can’t wait to get started. 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.’
Technical director Michael Emenalo statement adds: ‘Danny is not only a Premier League winner but also has Champions League experience which will be invaluable for us this season. He is a typically combative English midfielder with a cultured passing technique and his arrival significantly strengthens our midfield options.’
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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