Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater has completed a loan move to Aston Villa until the end of the season.
Drinkwater spent the first half of the season on loan at Burnley, but that expired on January 6 and he has now joined Villa after Chelsea agreed to continue to pay a significant proportion of his wages.
He will not play against his old club Leicester in Wednesday’s Sky Live Carabao Cup semi-final as he is cup-tied.
Drinkwater’s first game in a Villa shirt could be Sunday’s game at home to the champions, Manchester City, which is live on Sky Sports Premier League.
Villa had made an approach to Chelsea to take Olivier Giroud on loan for the rest of the season, but competition rules dictate that only one loan is allowed between the same two Premier League clubs, and so – with Giroud hoping to reunite with Antonio Conte at Inter Milan – Dean Smith went for Drinkwater instead.
Drinkwater managed less than an hour playing time in the Premier League after joining Burnley in the summer, and an injured ankle meant he missed several weeks of football in September after being attacked by a gang of men outside a Manchester nightclub.
Villa are confident Drinkwater is fit and ready to go straight into the first team, to deputise for John McGinn who is out until March with an ankle injury.
Drinkwater was a key member of Leicester’s Premier League-winning side in 2015-16 before moving to Chelsea for £35 million in September 2017.
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