Dean Smith shares verdict on Danny Drinkwater arrival at Aston Villa

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Dean Smith is excited by the arrival of Danny Drinkwater at Aston Villa and believes he’s got a point to prove.

Villa confirmed (official website) on Tuesday that the 29-year-old has joined the club on loan from Chelsea for the rest of the season.

The central midfielder spent the first half of this campaign at Burnley, but it was a torrid loan spell at Turf Moor that saw him make two appearances across all competitions.

Drinkwater has seen his reputation drop since joining Chelsea back in 2017 and he’s struggled for regular football, but he previously was a star at Leicester City and played an important role in winning the Premier League title too.

He earned three senior caps for England and on his day can dictate play from the centre of the park with his range of passing, as well as show great work-rate and tenacity.

Manager Smith seems delight to welcome Drinkwater to Villa and made an intriguing comparison to Tyrone Mings.

Mings joined Villa in January 2019 on an initial loan and was eventually signed up in the summer after playing a key role in earning promotion from the Championship.

The centre-back rediscovered regular playing time in the Midlands and reigned his career.

“I liked the hunger, I saw it in his eyes. He’s got a lot to go and prove now, it’s not happened at Chelsea. We’re going to give him the environment where he can come and flourish, he looks really hungry,” Smith said, as quoted by the club’s official Twitter account.

“There is a similarity to when we brought Tyrone Mings in last season from Bournemouth, hadn’t played many games either. He’s trained with us, his fitness looks really good, really pleased to have him on board.

“It’s an opportunity for him to go and show everybody what a quality player he is, we all know it’s there because we’ve all seen it.

TBR’s View:

Villa have done well to get a midfielder through the door quickly, as they are feeling the loss of injured star John McGinn and need to try find a solution quickly.

Drinkwater looks very much a gamble signing for the club, but if it pays off it will be a masterstroke.

The Midlands club would love it if the midfielder makes an impact like Mings, but fans shouldn’t expect miracles straight away and need to try give him a little bit of time despite being in a relegation scrap.