Leicester City are reportedly prepared to consider selling the England international to Manchester United provided Morgan Schneiderlin moves the other way.
According to Steve Bates of the Sunday People, defending Premier League champions Leicester City are willing to let go of £20 million-rated English midfielder Danny Drinkwater to Manchester United. However, the Foxes’ are adamant on signing French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin as a like-for-like replacement.
Drinkwater joined the Manchester United youth ranks at the tender age of nine, but never managed to make it into the first team. He was often on the periphery of making his big break, but manager Sir Alex Ferguson did not deem him good enough at the time for the United midfield.
After going out on loan to four different teams in the span of three seasons, Drinkwater’s Old Trafford hopes were effectively over. Leicester came knocking at his door and eventually signed the midfielder for a meagre £765,000 (as per Transfermarkt) in the summer of 2012.
Since moving to the King Power, the English midfielder has emerged to be a vital cog in the Foxes midfield. He played a pivotal role in Leicester’s title triumph last season and formed an unyielding pairing with N’Golo Kante at the heart of the midfield.
Due to his exploits in the 2015/16 campaign, United boss Jose Mourinho is intent on bringing him to Old Trafford. World-record signing Paul Pogba has struggled to form an understanding with Marouane Fellaini in the middle of the park and could benefit by playing alongside a midfielder with Drinkwater’s qualities.
However, Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri is demanding a like-for-like replacement in the form of defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin. Since joining the Red Devils for a reported £24 million last season, the Frenchman has failed to establish himself as a regular at Old Trafford and could benefit with a move to the King Power Stadium.
Despite seeming a good proposition on paper, the likelihood of a midfielder swap between the clubs is fairly low. Ranieri would not be willing to let go of another key player as he hopes to turn around Leicester’s poor run of form, and Drinkwater is undoubtedly a key part of his plans.
