Aston Villa officially sealed a loan deal for Danny Drinkwater from Chelsea in the January window with the 29-year-old England international signing until the end of the season.
Of course, while he brings experience and pedigree with him to Villa Park – his impact at Leicester in their title-winning 2015/16 campaign remains a career highlight – he hasn’t really hit the ground running.
Who on earth is that?!?! Can you name all of these obscure January signings?
Drinkwater made his debut against none other than Manchester City and was immediately, and justly, slammed for a terrible performance, with some suggesting he’s finished at this level.
However, maybe those words were a touch harsh on the midfielder. After all, he’s shown fantastic ability in the Premier League before.
Back when he was on loan at Burnley, Drinkwater was praised by one of his teammates, Erik Pieters, who believes the 29-year-old has a lot of great qualities.
Here’s what he said back in 2019, as quoted by the Daily Mail:
“Everyone can see he’s great on the ball, good passing, strong on the ball as well. And he brings calm in the team so hopefully he can get a couple more games to show it to us and show it to everyone.”
This could indicate that Drinkwater deserves time to acclimatise to his new environment. In the absence of John McGinn Villa could use a calming presence in the centre of midfield, and Pieters’ admission suggests that’s exactly what he can bring to the team.
Maybe all he needs is a little bit of time to settle at Villa Park.