Danny Drinkwater loan offer fell through due to French language issues — report

Danny Drinkwater’s latest attempts to get his career back on track failed to land him a loan move to a top European league, even after the Chelsea midfielder made it publicly known that he’d be more than willing to explore lands outside of the English football landscape. With practically all European transfer windows now closed (except Russia), Drinkwater’s only real hope is maybe a drop down a division into the Championship, where the window is open for business for another week.

Things could’ve been quite different if a report from L’Equipe (via Sport Witness) is to be believed. They claim that Drinkwater was offered to upwardly mobile Angers SCO, and was very much open to the possibility, even talking to some of his potential new teammates, but the team decided against pursuing the opportunity. Their main reason wasn’t because of anything football-related, but rather due to concerns over language.

Much like the recent conversation about the language(s) spoken in the Chelsea defense, Drinkwater’s lack of French knowledge in a “key role” was apparently enough to dissuade Angers.

C’est la vie.