Polish scout and journalist Michael Zachodny says he was perplexed by Chelsea’s decision to opt for Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater ahead of PSG’s Grzegorz Krychowiak this summer.
French publication L’Equipe have reported that the Blues enquired about the midfielder in July but chose to move on to other targets after the Ligue One club stalled on the deal.
The Polish international instead joined West Bromwich Albion on a season long loan while Chelsea signed Drinkwater on deadline day. Speaking to Sky Sports about the club’s decision, Zachodny said:
“I was quite surprised that Chelsea, for example chose to sign Danny Drinkwater instead. Krychowiak is a much better player, it’s as simple as that.”
Time will tell if it was a good decision or not. It must be said that the two players are not directly comparable. Krychowiak is a traditional holding midfielder, while Drinkwater plays a more offensive role in the centre of midfield.
It is likely that Krychowiak was considered as an alternative to Tiemoue Bakayoko who was effectively signed as Nemanja Matic’s replacement. The Frenchman was signed for £36m from Monaco in mid July; the exact same time that Chelsea were said to have talked to PSG about Krychowiak.