Chelsea: Remembering Danny Drinkwater as Jean Michael Seri lines up
By Travis Tyler
Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater’s time is set to end. In his place, it appears Jean Michael Seri is arriving. Is that the swap Chelsea need?
Danny Drinkwater’s last minute arrival last August was confusing to many. But he did tick a lot of boxes. He was homegrown, always a great thing for a club consistently pushing the limits of their quotas. And as far as English midfielders go, Drinkwater is one of the more technically proficient. Add in greater industry than Cesc Fabregas and a former partnership with N’Golo Kante and it made plenty of sense.
Except it did not work out at all. Drinkwater spent the early weeks of his campaign injured. When he returned he had two modes of play: terrible first touch passing or more calculated play. When he played as the latter, he looked a good signing. But it was the former that saw he fall out of favor with Antonio Conte. Drinkwater, upset about lack of playing time, is now angling for a move away if rumors are to be believe.
And they probably should. With any manager Chelsea are targeting, it will be hard for Drinkwater to work his way in after last season. Several returning loanees would appear to offer more than the Englishman. And then there is Jean Michael Seri.
This time last year, Seri was close to a move to Barcelona. That fell through and he had a rough time at Nice last season. But he is still a quality player and a cheap one (relatively) at that. Hence, Chelsea are interested.
Seri is, most directly, Drinkwater’s replacement. He has both the industry and the passing ability that attracted Chelsea to Drinkwater in the first place. But Seri is better at both at the expense of height and homegrown status.
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On the pitch, Chelsea will almost surely use a 4-3-3 next season. Every manager they have been linked to favors it and Antonio Conte is still unlikely to stay. As a starter, Seri would most likely take Fabregas’ place. His passing is below Fabregas’ ability but it is similar. The added work rate will make him more useful from the start. There is a chance that they can start together, but Ruben Loftus-Cheek might be able to take a starting role as well.
Seri pushing Fabregas to the bench also makes sense in context of Drinkwater. In a 3-4-3, Drinkwater was expected to line up next to Kante. Tiemoue Bakayoko was not yet ready and there were massive questions over Fabregas ability in a midfield two. Of course, it did not really pan out that way but that is more due to Drinkwater failing to make the grade than Fabregas fully earning his spot there.
Drinkwater will likely have suitors in midtable that will pay close to the £35 million Chelsea paid. Seri is likely to come in for a similar price while upgrading the position.
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It is unfortunate that Drinkwater at Chelsea did not work out. Injuries robbed him of his first chance to impress and then he did little to shift that narrative. Seri will come in and look to hit the ground running, something his English counterpart had no chance to do.