Danny Drinkwater Completes £35M Chelsea Move

Chelsea wrapped up a late move for Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater at the end of a nerve-jangling Deadline Day.

It is understood the fee is £35m, while Leicester are confident they have completed the signing of Adrien Silva from Sporting Lisbon before the deadline for a fee believed to be £22m.

Negotiations with Chelsea rumbled on as the clock ticked down on Thursday night with the Premier League champions falling short of the Foxes’ valuation of the England international.

Drinkwater was holed up at Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham as he awaited news of discussions between the two clubs.

The deal seemed to depend on Leicester attempting to sign Silva and at 1:30am both clubs confirmed that Drinkwater had sealed a move on a five-year deal for a club-record fee.

Drinkwater told Chelsea’s website: ‘I’m delighted to be a Chelsea player and can’t wait to get started. It has been a long journey to get here but I am very happy and am looking forward to helping the club win more trophies.”

He becomes Chelsea’s sixth senior signing of the summer following the arrivals of Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Alvaro Morata and Davide Zappacosta.

Silva was given permission to leave Portugal’s training camp to undergo a medical and negotiate the final parts of the potential Leicester deal.

Leicester saw a bid of £25m rejected by Sporting Lisbon last year for Silva, who has been capped 20 times by Portugal and was a member of the starting XI when they beat France in the Euro 2016 final.

Leicester officials are awaiting formal confirmation from the FA and Premier League that the deal went through correctly.

Drinkwater, 27, joined the Foxes from Manchester United in January 2012 and went on to make 217 appearances for the club in a period that saw him play key roles both Championship and Premier League-winning campaigns.

A club statement read: “Leicester City wishes to express its gratitude to Danny for his contribution to the team’s achievements over the past five years, as he leaves with the best wishes of everyone at the club.”

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