Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has said that midfielder Danny Drinkwater is free to leave Chelsea if he so chooses.
The 28-year-old has completely fallen off the radar under Sarri, having made his only Blues appearance of the season in the Community Shield back in August.
Drinkwater signed for Chelsea from Leicester City in September 2017 for a £35 million ($45m) fee, and featured sparingly in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
Under Antonio Conte, Drinkwater made 22 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions last season.
But after Sarri took over the England midfielder has fallen out of favour, with the Italian admitting that Drinkwater does not fit into his preferred 4-3-3 system.
“I think for him the problem is only my football,” Sarri said on Friday.
“He’s a very good midfielder but he is suitable for a midfield two because with a three he is not really a central midfielder or suitable for centre right or centre left.”
When asked about Drinkwater’s future at Chelsea, Sarri said: “I don’t know. It depends on the club, it’s up to him.”
Goal reported last month that Drinkwater had offers for a loan move over the summer from more than one Premier League club.
However, Chelsea rejected those offers due to the loan fees being too low, with the club preferring to sell him outright. .Goal