Chelsea are ruling the transfer window ahead of Thursday’s deadline day as French reports claimed that the Blues have agreed in principle with Leicester City for Danny Drinkwater.
Antonio Conte is desperate to defend the Premier League title and has stepped up his pursuit of Oxlade-Chamberlain in the recent weeks in order to bolster his squad.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has been guaranteed by the club’s board that he will have at least two more new players before the summer transfer window closes.
They have already agreed a £35m deal with Arsenal for wantaway midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain and now they are poised to land Drinkwater at Stamford Bridge before the transfer window shuts shop on Thursday.
According to SFR Sport, Antonio Conte has finally secured the deal for the England star after weeks of negotiating with the Foxes.
Earlier, the Blues had seen their £15m bid for the England star turned down by the Leicester bosses, but Conte have been desperate to rope in the 27-year-old to replace Nemanja Matic, who was sold to league rivals Manchester United.
And sources close to the West London club have revealed that the Blues are on the verge of landing Drinkwater after agreeing a £40m deal with the Foxes.
Drinkwater is aware that he will have to compete with Cesc Fabregas, N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko for a place in the middle of the park, but Conte has assured the England man of ample game-time with Chelsea fighting on all fronts this time around – Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and most importantly the Champions League.
The Foxes have already lined up PSG’s Gregorz Krychowiak as Drinkwater’s replacement.
The Poland star joined the Ligue 1 giants from Sevilla for £30m last summer, but he failed to earn a place in the starting XI.
He featured just 19 times in all competitions – just 11 in the French top-flight – and is now likely to part ways with the French club before the transfer window shuts shop on Thursday.
PSG need to offload players to reduce their wage bill after bringing in Neymar for £198m, where he is taking home in £500,000-a-week.
