English football champions Chelsea added more depth to their squad with the signing of England midfielder Danny Drinkwater from Leicester City and Italy right-back Davide Zappacosta from Torino on the final day of the European club football summer transfer window.
Drinkwater, 27, and Zappacosta, 25, signed on Thursday night for Chelsea. They joined goalkeeper Willy Caballero, defender Antonio Rudiger, midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko and striker Alvaro Morata as new members of the London football powerhouse as chief coach Antonio Conte gets ready for the 2017-18 season, according to Chelsea’s website.
According to media reports, Zappacosta will cost around $35 million, Chelsea will have to pay Leicester $45 million for Drinkwater.
Drinkwater played a big role in Leicester’s incredible title-winning campaign of 2015/16. He is reunited with former Leicester midfielder N’Golo Kante, who joined Chelsea in 2016 summer.
“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,” Drinkwater told Chelsea’s website.
Chelsea’s other signing, Zappacosta can play at wing-back or full-back and has been capped by Italy. He has signed a four-year deal with Chelsea, according to the club’s website.
Zappacosta said: “It is a dream for me to join Chelsea and play in the Premier League. I am very excited to be here and start working with the team. I hope I can show my quality to the coach, my team-mates and the supporters.”
Zappacosta possesses a combination of defensive and attacking qualities and is a fine crosser of the ball from a wide-right position.
With the addition of Zappacosta, Conte can have two strong options alongside Victor Moses for the right wing-back position.
