DANNY DRINKWATER is still hoping for one last chance at Chelsea while he rebuilds his career out on loan.
On loan at Turkish club Kasimpasa, the 31-year-old says he is still searching for the love of the game that he felt so strongly when winning the Premier League title with Leicester.
1
The midfielder joined Chelsea a year after that fairytale achievement but the £35million switch has not gone to plan.
And Drinkwater has described his time at Stamford Bridge as ‘frustrating’.
He told Sada Elbalad‘s Elmatch Program: “It was a big price tag at the time but I felt it was exciting.
“It was a new change, I felt I could play and show my worth. I just think it was a lack of chances.
“My time at Chelsea has been nothing but frustrating.
“It is a weird position that I am in. It is definitely different but I don’t think I am the first, nor will I be the last. This is part of football.”
Drinkwater only made 23 appearances for Chelsea, almost all of which came under Antonio Conte in an injury-hit debut season.
While he enjoyed a ‘great relationship’ with Maurizio Sarri, the signing of Jorginho meant he was told to find a new club on deadline day.
There were days where I got frustrated at the whole situation, things started to happen off the pitch that shouldn’t have.
Danny Drinkwater
The player recalled: “[Sarri] gave me one hour of the window.
“He said, ‘I think you’re gonna get frustrated’, he explained and was honest, which was great.
“But I had one hour to find a club because I wasn’t willing to go abroad. I’d just had a son, I wanted to be close to my son.
“And I didn’t want to be part of the loan structure, it was a lot of mixed feelings. So I decided to stay, I was baffled.
“There were days where I got frustrated at the whole situation, things started to happen off the pitch that shouldn’t have.”
Quiet loan spells at Burnley and Aston Villa were followed by a switch to Kasimpasa, where Drinkwater has made seven appearances.
A return to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in the summer is not out the question for Drinkwater, who still has a year left on his contract, but he accepts that it is a ‘long’ way off.
Asked if he can get back in the Blues team, he noted: “I would like to think so.
“I don’t know if it is a good idea to go back to Chelsea and start declaring these things. I have got a long way to go.
“I have to try and start enjoying my football again because in this moment it has disappeared.
“I keep working hard, I keep grafting and I am doing the right things at the right times and I need to stay injury free and see where it takes me.
“It is a short career so I need to keep doing the right things and hope things turn around.”
⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
