West Ham may have just been linked with a move for Jann M’Vila, but Mario Husillos will get another chance to target Chelsea’s Danny Drinkwater in the summer, as Maurizio Sarri has stated that the outcasted midfielder will never be a part of his plans, in quotes reported by The Guardian.
The former Leicester star was reportedly not just one of our top targets back in January, but the number one priority heading into Deadline Day, yet for whatever reason, the deal never materialised.
That was likely down to the staggeringly high loan fee the Pensioners were reportedly searching for, with suggestions made that they would demand close to £10million for the season.
Obviously, or at least hopefully, that would have been reduced if we had made a move in the winter market, but that could still be the case come this summer when Husillos would get his next opportunity to take the 29-year-old away from Stamford Bridge.
A permanent deal for the midfielder, valued by TransferMarkt at just £9m, would likely not be in question, though, as if the Blues were asking for £10m for a loan fee, then you’d doubt they’d cash-in for less as his contract there runs to 2022.
Husillos would also have to think hard about the benefits of signing Drinkwater in the summer, as it is extremely likely that he will not play a single minute for the rest of the term. The last, and so far only, time he has featured under Sarri was 30 minutes in the Community Shield defeat to Man City in August – the two-time Premier League winner has only been in a matchday squad on two other occasions all season.
“As he knows very well, he has never played because, in my opinion, he is not suitable to my system, to my way of playing,” Sarri said.
“I told him everything in August. He appreciated it, but he decided to remain. And so he knew very well the situation.
“Maybe I am wrong, but it’s my opinion. I try [to be honest with the players]. Of course, sometimes, you have to say something different. But in 99% of cases, I try to be honest. I spoke with him in August, when the market was still open, and said he should look for something different because he wouldn’t play. And I told him the reasons, my reasons.
“I cannot do anything [for him]. A player usually wants only to play, so I cannot do anything. I can only have with him a very good relationship, no more. At the moment, I am not able to satisfy him as a player. So it’s very difficult, but he knew.”
Beyond Chelsea’s staggering asking price to take Drinkwater on loan for the season, the 29-year-old earns a reported £100,000-a-week, enough to be our third-best paid player.
