Official: Danny Drinkwater joins Burnley on half season loan from Chelsea

After a season of regular training sessions and not much else, Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater is heading out of Stamford Bridge on a half-season-long loan deal to Premier League side Burnley, until January 6.

Chelsea found Drinkwater hard to move given his significant wages, but as suspected, a wage subsidy has done the trick, with Chelsea picking up about half of the midfielder’s wages still.

The Manchester-born footballer was part of Manchester United’s setup since from 1999 until 2012, when he left Old Trafford to join Leicester City at the Championship. Four-and-a-half years later, his partnership at central midfield with N’Golo Kanté during the 2015-16 Premier League season would be a massive part of the Foxes’ once unimaginable winning campaign.

He moved to Chelsea one season later, on deadline day of the 2017 summer transfer window, joining the club in a £35 million transfer after a long-drawn saga for his signature. He got 22 appearances in his first season at Chelsea under manager Antonio Conte, and was unable to impress his second manager, Maurizio Sarri, in his second year as he went to get only 30 minutes of play (during the Community Shield) throughout the entire term.

At Burnley, Drinkwater should get way more chances of playing than what he would get with his third Chelsea manager, Frank Lampard. He will likely fit quite well in a team that spent most of the season battling against relegation, and are eager to return to mid-table consideration — and maybe even earn an extension for a full season in January.

Good luck, Danny!