Chelsea FC new signing Danny Drinkwater set to bench star player

Chelsea FC new signing Danny Drinkwater has finally come back from injury after starting for the Blues in their win over Everton in the Carabao Cup.

Chelsea FC head coach Antonio Conte started Drinkwater along with 17-year-old new signing Ethan Ampadu in a two-man midfield against Everton.

Chelsea FC won 2-1 after a dominant first-half display against Everton. Danny Drinkwater made his debut for the club after completing his £30m move from Leicester City in the summer.

The 27-year-old had a decent game despite still coming back from injury and not 100% match-fit. He made a number of long ball passes like he did at former club Leicester City except he didn’t have Jamie Vardy latching onto them.

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The English midfielder reminded Chelsea fans of his quality despite not having the greatest prestige or reputation. But, he did win the Premier League title with Leicester along with N’Golo Kante and is clearly a better defensive option than Cesc Fabregas.

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Drinkwater could’ve played better though and it was clear he’s still not 100% as he mostly made safe horizontal passes and failed to find the Chelsea attackers with any through balls. But, he defended well along with Ampadu in the midfield and covered lots of ground. As son as Drinkwater came off and was replaced by Cesc Fabregas, the team looked instantly weaker in defence. Everton started attacking more and by-passed the midfield more easily.

So I believe that Drinkwater could actually replace Fabregas as the third central midfielder in the team. He has passing vision and can defend. With a three-man midfield, Drinkwater could provide the passing range while N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko provide the defensive steel.

Antonio Conte has even stated in the post-match interview that Drinkwater could become the third midfielder once fully fit when Chelsea FC play three in midfield

"“We will have three games before the international break and to see him fit 100 per cent may be after the international break.“I can count him in games now. If I decide to play with three midfielders, it’s very important.”"

While Cesc Fabregas can be world-class on his day, he is also a defensive liability and we have seen what happens when Cesc Fabregas plays without the enigmatic N’golo Kante in the team covering him. Chelsea FC have conceded a lot of goals since Kante got injured and while Bakayoko still adapts to the Premier League. They conceded two goals against Crystal Palace who had not scored a single goal until then, conceded three against Roma in the Champions League, and then conceded two against Watford.

So if Conte decides to be more defensive against top teams, I could see him starting Drinkwater over Fabregas in a two-man midfield and even could start him alongside Kante and Bakayoko in a midfield trio.

And yes, it sounds completely crazy to say that Drinkwater should start over Fabregas, but in certain games, where we need to defend, I could see it happening. Conte likes to play a counter-attacking style of football and prefers to put more emphasis on defending… especially when we play top teams.

So look for Drinkwater to start alongside Kante and even Bakayoko in the coming months. But, just to be clear so I don’t get too much hate, I think Fabregas is a fantastic midfielder and we clearly need his vision and creativity. But, if we need to grind out a result, I can see Drinkwater starting over the Spanish maestro with the magic hat.

Next: Chelsea planning for life after Conte

Drinkwater will hope to be involved in the Chelsea FC team when they face Bournemouth in what should be a reasonably comfortable win.

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