Burnley complete loan move for Chelsea's Drinkwater

Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater has completed a loan move to Burnley, the club confirmed on Thursday. 

The England international has signed a deal at Turf Moor until January 6, 2020, the Lancashire club said.

The 29-year-old joined Chelsea in 2017 after being a key member of Leicester City’s Premier League winning squad in 2016.

He made 22 appearances in his first season for the Blues, including appearing in a Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona.

He was frozen out last season by Maurizio Sarri and, although the Italian manager left at the end of last season, new boss Frank Lampard made it clear the midfielder was not part of his plans in west London for the upcoming season.

Drinkwater has not made a competitive appearance since he came on as a substitute for Chelsea in the 2018 Community Shield.

He started his career at Manchester United but never made a first team appearance for the club, spending four different periods on loan.

One of those loan spells was at Watford, where current Clarets boss Sean Dyche was in in charge.

The 29-year-old has made three appearances for his country, but missed out on the squad for the 2016 European Championships and has not been selected since.

Burnley fell away badly last season after they finished seventh in the 2017-18 season, reaching the qualification phase of the Europa League, where they were eliminated by Olimpiacos in the final round before the competition proper.

They finished 15th last season, just six points clear of the relegation zone.

Drinkwater joins striker Jay Rodriguez, goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell and defenders Erik Pieters and Ryan Cooney as new faces at the club, as they look to secure Premier League football for a fifth consecutive season.

The Manchester-born midfielder was inspirational during his spell at the Foxes, joining them in 2012 when they were in the Championship.
 
They were promoted, alongside his new team, in 2014. They escaped relegation in 2015, despite being bottom at Christmas, thanks to a late-season resurgence.

The next season the Midlands club swept to the title, winning the crown of England’s elite by 10 points, despite starting the season as 5000-1 underdogs.