Danny Drinkwater, Chelsea midfielder has stated that it is high time he cleaned up the slate to start his career afresh.
According to him, he is ready to clean himself up and get his career back on track. He won the Premier League in his time at Leicester City in 2016. Drinkwater lost his touch when he joined Chelsea, playing 29 games since 2017.
His lack of appearances together with other personal issues led to his fallout with football. Drinkwater’s last appearance was brief in Community Shield in the 2018/19 season. Off the field, Drinkwater has had a lot of things going on for him; with many run-ins with the law. He has been charged drunk-driving, assault against teammate Jota whilst on loan and being assaulted in a nightclub. Then there are the difficulties of seeing his son, from whose mother he is separated.
This is what he had to say about it: “I had a wake-up call after the drink-driving, another wake-up call after the nightclub and then another wake-up call after the incident at Villa. Then it’s like, this has got to stop.”
Drinkwater was not allocated a squad number when Lampard made Chelsea’s announcement on Thursday. On top of that, Thiago Silva, the new signing was given Drinkwater’s former Number Six jersey.
“I have taken a good look at myself loads of times,” he said in an interview, “I told myself that I needed to clean myself up big time”.
He added: “At that point, it just becomes a job and fulfilling your hours. Mentally, it’s a killer. For a full year knowing that was hard to cope with.
“I won’t use Chelsea as an excuse for the drink-driving. Obviously, my mental state wasn’t the best, but it was ridiculous and it should never have happened. There were a few things going on then away from football, my nan and grandad passed away quite close together and, this might sound daft to anyone who doesn’t have a dog, but my dog passed away and that hurt me. It was all part of the sticky patch”.
“For everything to come in a short space of time with my career not going to plan was too much for me. It hit me.”
According to him, he is now ready to get his career back on track.
“I’ve got loads more to give. I’m open to going abroad, even though it will be difficult with my son,” Drinkwater explained.
“It probably all comes down to patience and trust with me. I need to change for it to work, otherwise, I’ll be stuck in this vicious circle.
“If I can trust people who are good at their job and be patient then I can only see me building my career back up now. I can’t see me staying in this situation. No chance.”
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Edem is a writer and loves to read. He believes that writing is an instrument of expression and an advocator of ideologies that can cause significant changes to our current dispensation and the future.
