‘It’s been a shambles’: Danny Drinkwater reflects on Chelsea career

Drinkwater will be a free agent next summer having made just 23 appearances for Chelsea

Harry Latham-Coyle
Tuesday 21 September 2021 10:52 BST
Comments
(Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Danny Drinkwater has described his time at Chelsea as “a shambles”.

The midfielder has made just 12 Premier League appearances for the club since arriving for a fee reported to be £35 million from Leicester in 2017.

Drinkwater is now on loan at Reading and is keen to rebuild his career, with his contract with Chelsea coming to an end before the 2022-23 season.

“It’s been a shambles,” Drinkwater told Talksport of his time at Stamford Bridge.

“It’s football, it’s never straightforward, it’s never simple. I’m just excited for the new challenges. I need to [kick-start my career]. I’m more excited about this than I have been for a few years now, especially how my career’s panned out.

“[It is about playing ] games, getting the enjoyment of football back, then going from there. A few have slid away, I’ve made mistakes, I’ve not played.

“I’m in the last year of my contract, so there’s more than just football riding on it. I’ve got other things.”

Drinkwater won three England caps in 2016 after helping Leicester City to their famous Premier League triumph.

He signed an improved five-year deal at the club that summer but departed for Chelsea a year later.

A thigh injury disrupted his first couple of months at the club and the midfielder fell completely out of favour under Maurizio Sarri after the Italian took over ahead of the 2018-19 season.

Chelsea have since loaned Drinkwater to Burnley, Aston Villa and Turkish side Kasımpaşa, while he will remain at Reading for the rest of the season.

He made his debut for the club from the bench as Reading beat Fulham on Saturday and Drinkwater, 31, believes he still has plenty to offer.

I’m desperate for games, I know my position and I know it’s not what I’ve expected for 10 years. So I’ve got to make changes and I’m making the right steps.

“I’ve just got to keep in contact with the manager, trust each other and trust the team. Hopefully they trust me and we can build on that.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in