Chelsea Transfer News: Danny Drinkwater completes loan move to Aston Villa
Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater has joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season, it has been confirmed.
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Drinkwater joins the Villans shortly after his loan spell at Burnley ended
The England international travelled to Bodymoor Heath training ground on Tuesday morning where he completed his medical successfully before penning down a half-a-season loan deal.
The former Leicester City midfielder did not feature in Frank Lampard's plans for the Blues this term and was consequently loaned out to Burnley at the start of the season. At Turf Moor, the 29-year-old struggled for game-time partly due to an ankle injury and ended up making only two appearances in all competitions for the club.
The Clarets opted out of signing Drinkwater for the remainder of the campaign and the Villans have now swooped in for the Englishman as they look to avoid a relegation battle in the Premier League.
Villa manager Dean Smith believes the midfielder could provide much-needed cover for John McGinn, who is sidelined until March due to an ankle injury he picked up in their defeat to Southampton in October last year.
While some reports have claimed that Villa will cough up £110,000 per week in wages to Drinkwater during the loan stint, others stat that Blues have agreed to pay for a significant proportion of his wages.
The Villans had previously made an approach over the potential loan signing of Olivier Giroud but as competition rules dictate that only one loan is allowed for the same two Premier League clubs, they opted for Drinkwater instead.
Drinkwater's first game for the Aston Villa could be Sunday's clash against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.
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