After another miraculous season where Crystal Palace managed to secure their top-flight status, manager Roy Hodgson has a few important weeks coming up as Palace attempt to sign a few players and improve their squad.
Palace let Yohan Cabaye leave for free and the Frenchman needs to be replaced before the season begins. The side have been linked with a few names and the most recent one is Danny Drinkwater of Chelsea.
Having moved to Chelsea from Leicester City, like N’Golo Kante, it just hasn’t happened for the Premier League winner. At the time of the transfer, Drinkwater was nursing an injury and he didn’t take part in pre-season.
By the time he was fit, there were others in the midfield who had made the position their own and he struggled to get game time. A loan move is in the offing and Palace are one of the sides interested.
Drinkwater – Stats
Last season, Drinkwater started just five games for Chelsea and wasn’t able to influence the game as much as he would have wanted. Because of the sporadic game time, the fans didn’t get to see the best of his abilities, something the Leicester fans are aware of.
A pretty disciplined midfielder, Drinkwater mustered 1.3 tackles a game for the Blues. That’s an ability that managers like. Claudio Ranieri made the best use of his workrate and passing ability as the counter-attacking setup with Kante and Drinkwater thrived.
During the 2015-16 season, Drinkwater was a machine in midfield. He averaged 3 tackles a game in the league and recorded at least one key pass a game, which showed how good his distribution was.
What will Danny Drinkwater add to Crystal Palace?
Still only 28, Drinkwater could be a very valuable addition to the Palace midfield. Because of what he offers defensively and going forward with his passing, he’d be the ideal replacement for Cabaye.
Signing someone from the Premier League also makes sense as the acclimatisation time will be vastly reduced.
Palace have a pretty good attack; quick wingers and a strong striker who can hold up play well. With someone like Drinkwater in the midfield, the system could function a whole lot better. A loan move is kind of a no-brainer and the side should work towards signing him as soon as possible.
Stats via Whoscored
