[Photo] Midfielder Poses With Chelsea Shirt After Completing Last Gasp £35m Move

Chelsea finally got their hands on Danny Drinkwater after the midfielder completed a £35m move from Leicester City late last night.

Antonio Conte was desperate to strengthen his midfield options on deadline day after selling Nemanja Matic to Manchester United and Nathan Chalobah to Watford.

The Blues boss was initially frustrated with his pursuit after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain snubbed Chelsea’s advances in favour of a move to Liverpool which meant Conte was even more determined to land Drinkwater.

We heard reports claiming that the 27-year-old was waiting to undergo his medical at Chelsea’s Cobham training base late last night as the two clubs continued to thrash out a deal.

An agreement was finally reached between the two clubs after Leicester secured a deal to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Adrien Silva as a replacement and Drinkwater underwent his medical.

It was a long wait for official confirmation but the Blues finally announced on Chelseafc.com well past midnight that Drinkwater had joined the club on a five-year contract.

After completing his move, Drinkwater told the clubs website:

‘I’m delighted to be a Chelsea player and can’t wait to get started. It has been a long journey to get here but I am very happy and am looking forward to helping the club win more trophies.’

No official details of the fee have been released by either club but the Guardian claim Chelsea have paid Leicester around £35m for Drinkwater’s signature.

The England international now has the opportunity to rekindle his partnership with N’Golo Kante after the pair led Leicester to the title during the 2015/16 campaign.

READ MORE –> Chelsea transfer news 

Drinkwater followed Italian right-back Divide Zappacosta in making the move to Chelsea on deadline day but the Blues were frustrated in their pursuit of other targets such as Ross Barkley and Fernando Llorente.