Danny Drinkwater is on loan with Aston Villa from Chelsea (Getty Images)
As per Leicestershire Live, Liverpool legend John Barnes has urged the Reds to sign Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater, who won the Premier League title with Leicester City in the 2015/16 season. He currently plies his trade with Aston Villa on loan.
Drinkwater, 30, is a product of Manchester United’s youth system but never made a senior appearance for the Red Devils. During his time at Old Trafford, he was sent on loan spells to Cardiff City, Watford, and Barnsley FC before joining Leicester City permanently in January 2012.
He immediately established himself as a key player of the squad and also helped the Foxes get promoted to the Premier League in the 2014/15 season. A year later, he played a significant role under Claudio Ranieri in helping the Midlands club lift the Premier League title.
However, since his move to Chelsea, his career has been on the decline and is struggling to find regular game time at Villa Park. Thus, Liverpool should keep their eyes off Drinkwater.
The Reds. meanwhile, have claimed the Premier League title for the first time in 30 years after Manchester City lost 2-1 to Chelsea on Thursday. Jurgen Klopp’s men have been dominant in the last two years and Klopp has helped the club reach greater heights in recent times.
Before the arrival of Klopp, Liverpool struggled to make it to the European games but the former Borussia Dortmund built a strong team around some world-class players. However, with the league title in their hands, the manager should shift his focus on the next season.
Liverpool have a plethora of midfield talents in their ranks in Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Fabinho. And all of them have played their roles in a perfect manner.
However, Adam Lallana is set to depart the club in the summer and the manager needs to find a replacement. But going for Chelsea’s Drinkwater would not be an ideal solution to add depth to the squad. The former English international looks far from his best and has found it difficult to get regular game time.
Since his arrival at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2017, he has made just 28 appearances across all competitions in the last three seasons. He has not been the same since moving from Leicester City and his loan spell at Villa Park has also not helped his cause either.
Given his form, he could be surplus to Liverpool requirements and the Reds would be wasting their resources for a player who is eventually going to be benched. Thus, the English Champions should not make a move for Drinkwater.
At 30, the former Man United academy product has nothing much to offer in the future. And Liverpool also have enough quality and numbers in midfield. Therefore, they should refrain from making a move for Drinkwater and instead look to add depth to other key areas.
