Former Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater has become a forgotten figure in the Premier League ever since his £35 million move to the Stamford Bridge back in the summer of 2017.
The 28-year-old central midfielder had an injury-stricken debut season in west London where he made only 12 appearances in the Premier League and has been frozen out of the team by new manager Maurizio Sarri. In fact, he has been so badly out of favour that he has failed to make it to the matchday squad even once this season.
One of the key members of Leicester City’s 2015-16 Premier League winning campaign, Drinkwater handed a transfer request following a lacklustre 2016-17 season at the King Power Stadium to take the next big step in his career.
However, things have gone horribly wrong for the Englishman and the 28-year-old finds himself way down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, so much so, that he has been omitted from Chelsea’s Europa League squad as well. A loan move away from west London would have helped him resurrect his career but that hasn’t happened either.
Drinkwater accumulated a couple of goals and seven assists from 35 appearances for the Foxes back in the 2015-16 season, playing an important role alongside N’Golo Kante in the middle of the park. He averaged 56.7 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 77.6, including 3.9 successful long balls per game.
Coming to the defensive side of his game, he averaged 3 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game. In all honesty, those numbers are quite impressive and a player of his calibre shouldn’t have his career wasted away by constantly sitting on the sidelines.
To put things into perspective, Bournemouth should make a move for the out of favour Chelsea star to shore up their midfield. In fact, he would make an ideal replacement for the injured Lewis Cook.
The Cherries have lost momentum after a wonderful start to their season, winning only one of their last seven Premier League fixtures. They have been up against some of the Premier League giants in the last couple of months but few can deny that there has been a marked dip in the performance curve.
Eddie Howe needs an experienced central midfielder to bring that calming influence to his midfield and Drinkwater certainly fits the bill. The Englishman knows how to use the ball well and his presence in a box-to-box role will do a world of good for Bournemouth.
Jefferson Lerma has been a standout performer at the south coast this season but the Colombian has run out of partners. Lewis Cook largely underwhelmed with his displays before being sidelined with an injury and Andrew Surman and Dan Gosling are not quite the Premier League quality players that the Cherries need to secure a top ten finish.
The acquisition of Drinkwater will not only add to the depth and quality of Bournemouth’s reserves but will also bring that much-needed winning mentality to the team. That said, a cut-price deal in January will be a win-win situation for all parties involved.