Chelsea have reportedly informed Leicester City of their interest in Danny Drinkwater but insist they won’t pay more than £30million for the transfer of the England international.
Antonio Conte is understood to be keen on adding another midfielder to his ranks this summer after allowing Nemanja Matic to join Manchester United, with Drinkwater a leading candidate.
The 27-year-old shone for Leicester in their title-winning campaign of 2015/16, when he formed a strong partnership in the middle with N’Golo Kante, who is now at Stamford Bridge.
The pair could be brought together again before the end of this transfer window, with Drinkwater said to be excited at the prospect of moving to a bigger club.
Still, while Chelsea are looking at him as one of a number of options, it is claimed they will not go over the £30m mark to bring him to west London, according to The Sun.
The Blues are also being linked with Everton’s Ross Barkley in that position, while Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Juventus’ Alex Sandro remain priorities for the wing-back positions.
Reports earlier today stated that Chelsea hoped to bring in four more signings before the end of the summer, with some hope that one could be completed before this weekend’s Community Shield clash with Arsenal.
Chelsea's pre-season fixtures
Chelsea 3-0 Arsenal
Chelsea 2-3 Bayern Munich
Chelsea 1-2 Inter Milan
Aug 6 – Arsenal (Wembley – Community Shield)
Conte enjoyed great success by delivering the title to Chelsea in his first season last term, but has been desperate to strengthen his team with a number of additions this summer.
Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Alvaro Morata have already arrived, but the high number of departures such as Matic, John Terry, Nathan Ake and Nathaniel Chalobah have persuaded the Italian to keep on spending.
MORE : Look out Chelsea: Arsenal star fighting for early Community Shield return
MORE : Chelsea’s Antonio Conte pushing for four more signings
Share this with