Leicester City: Manchester United eye £30m January move for Drinkwater

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 17: Daniel Drinkwater of Leicester CiDaniel Drinkwater of Leicester City(C) and Stephen Ward of Burnley both stretch for the ball during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Burnley at The King Power Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 17: Daniel Drinkwater of Leicester CiDaniel Drinkwater of Leicester City(C) and Stephen Ward of Burnley both stretch for the ball during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Burnley at The King Power Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater is subject to speculation after being lined up as Jose Mourinho’s January target after United consider a £30m bid.

Danny Drinkwater signed a new contract this summer with Leicester City worth around £90,000 per week. This however, hasn’t deterred Manchester United.

Related Story: Leicester City: ‘CL is the stuff of dreams’ says Danny Drinkwater

The 26 year old bounced around lower league clubs on loan following his unsuccessful attempts to break into the United first team.

Like many of his current team-mates, Manchester is a familiar area for Danny as he is one of several United ‘rejects’ in the Leicester City squad.

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The Sun are quoted as to saying that Jose Mourinho himself has requested the services of Drinkwater after believing that Drinkwater should look to Pogba as an example following his return to United.

Leicester City face United this weekend in a clash that has been heated from both sides following Leicester’s 5 – 3 win over the Red Devils in the 2014/15 season.

On this exact day 2 years ago we saw a game that would go down in Leicester City history, one of the greatest comebacks the foxes have ever achieved. Well, maybe the relegation escape later that season upstaged it.

With Leicester facing Manchester United this weekend, any comments from The Sun should be taken with a pinch of salt.

This is especially the case when they are quoted as saying that Drinkwater will be offered a contract of £150,000 per week.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea shakes hands with Andy King of Leicester City during the EFL Cup Third Round match between Leicester City and Chelsea at The King Power Stadium on September 20, 2016 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea shakes hands with Andy King of Leicester City during the EFL Cup Third Round match between Leicester City and Chelsea at The King Power Stadium on September 20, 2016 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

Mourinho according to many sources, not just The Sun, is understandably unhappy with how overrun his midfield was during their 2 – 1 defeat over local rivals Manchester City.

Jose’s answer to this problem looks to be in the form of Danny Drinkwater, however if it’s a defensive midfielder he’s after, maybe he should keep looking.

For all of Danny’s quality in midfield, he needs a proper defence minded  player sitting next to him, for example Cambiasso, Kante, Mendy or Daniel Amartey.

This is no fault of Drinkwater, it’s simply what allows him to shine.

With a proper partner next to him, he’s able to have time on the ball to pick a pass without worrying about protecting the back line behind him.

A great example of this is when he’s paired with Andy King, another attack minded midfielder.

The Welsh international is Leicester City’s highest goalscoring midfielder however when played alongside Drinkwater, the midfield falls apart.

Should he move to Manchester United, he’ll have no proper defensive midfielder next to him and may even have to carry out the role himself.

Next: Leicester City 3 – 0 Burnley: The Slimani show

If there is any substance to this rumour, perhaps Drinkwater will show the same resilience as those before him in the shape of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez who both turned down big money moves to Arsenal this summer.