Danny Drinkwater has given a blunt assessment of how Maurizio Sarri handled his marginalisation at Chelsea, saying the Italian was a friendly figure but never an advocate for him as a footballer. The 36-year-old former England midfielder spoke in an interview with The Athletic’s David Ornstein.
Sarri was appointed on 14 July 2018 and quickly signed Jorginho from Napoli in a deal initially worth £50m. Drinkwater, bought for £35m from Leicester City in 2017, made just one 30-minute cameo that season in the Community Shield.
Drinkwater said, thinking about the midfielder who replaced him at Stamford Bridge:
“I’m sure Jorginho won’t mind me saying this: his first season in the Premier League was, you know, kind of… I don’t know what to call it, but it wasn’t a good one.
“I think he knew that. And he played maybe 40 games, all because Sarri was the manager. And that’s the difference, honestly, between having a manager who believes in you and that doesn’t.”
Jorginho actually played 54 times in 2018/19 – including 37 Premier League starts – well above the number Drinkwater could recall. He revealed that Sarri told him he was not in the club’s plans at all.
Maurizio Sarri’s One Season at Chelsea and Stamford Bridge
Maurizio Sarri signed an initial three-year deal and had a chaotic but ultimately successful first season in West London. Chelsea came third in the Premier League and beat Arsenal 4–1 in the final of the Europa League on 29 May 2019.
It was not without friction, though, with supporters jeering Jorginho when he featured in a 3-0 Europa League win over Malmo and the Carabao Cup final defeat on penalties to Manchester City. Pressure eased following an impressive cup final display and win over Tottenham.
Drinkwater would not benefit from the changing of the guard, with Sarri moving to Juventus and Frank Lampard taking over for 2019/20.