Drinkwater looking forward to football with Burnley after ‘complicated’ time at Chelsea

Just a little north of Manchester sits the town of Burnley, which is where Manchester-born Danny Drinkwater will be looking to restart his football career that had been in a downwards spiral since joining Chelsea two years ago, completely stalled last summer with the arrival of Maurizio Sarri, and didn’t seem to be getting jump-started anytime soon under Frank Lampard either.

So it’s a bit of a homecoming for Danny, both in terms of geographical location and in terms of coaching, as he reunites with Sean Dyche, for whom he played for half a season at Watford, on loan from Manchester United, back in 2010-11.

“It feels good to be home and now I just want to concentrate on my football. From the people I’ve met so far, this feels like a nice family club with down to earth people and staff, and that helps. When you are happy, that’s when you take it onto the field and play your best football.”

“I’ve been lucky enough to work with the manager here in the past and he’s given me another shot right now. I’ve not played much football, but hopefully I can prove him right.”

Drinkwater should be in good physical shape after taking part in preseason with Chelsea, but he has not played competitive football in well over a year so some adjustment could be required. With his loan set for only six months and Burnley paying only half his wages, there’s little time to waste to convince the Clarets and any other potential future suitors, especially at 29 years of age.

“It was a bit of a complicated time at Chelsea, but I see this as a positive move and I’m looking forward to getting going.”

“Pre-season has been good and I’ve taken part in most things. Unfortunately it’s not happened for me at Chelsea, but you have to go with the flow. I think now the target is to get to a level where the manager is happy with my fitness and keep moving forward and working hard.”

-Danny Drinkwater; source: Burnley FC

Dyche is making no guarantees but believes Danny’s quality and professionalism will shine through if given a proper chance.

“Danny is a player who we hope can add to what we do in the midfield department and add to the competitive instinct of the team. There are no guarantees, but Danny’s record suggests that he is capable and now it’s about getting him back to having that edge that you play with.

”We want to make it so that he fits in with what we do and we’ll hopefully deliver a culture and environment to work in, and then the player’s commitment is to come and give all they can.”

-Sean Dyche; source: Burnley FC

Good luck, Tenacious Double D!