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Danny Drinkwater 'closing in on Kasimpasa move'

The former Leicester title-winner has struggled for first-team opportunities at Chelsea.

Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater is close to completing a loan switch to Turkish club Kasimpasa, the PA news agency understands.

A Premier League title winner with Leicester in 2016, Drinkwater has made just 23 senior appearances for Chelsea since his £35million move in 2017.

He has not featured in the first team since the 2018 Community Shield clash against Manchester City.

Brighton and Hove Albion v Aston Villa – Premier League – AMEX Stadium
Danny Drinkwater has already had loan stints at Aston Villa and Burnley during his time at Chelsea (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The 30-year-old has been training with Chelsea's under-23s, and was sent off in a development team match against Tottenham in December.

Drinkwater's time at Chelsea has been punctuated by a number of off-field incidents, and he has been seeking an overseas loan move since the summer.

The three-cap England midfielder has endured testing loan stints at Burnley and Aston Villa over the last few years and will view this opportunity in Turkey as a fresh start.

Drinkwater had received interest from several Bundesliga clubs but is now close to finalising a move to Kasimpasa, who sit 13th in the Super Lig table with six wins from 17 matches.

Chelsea, meanwhile, continue preparations to face Fulham at Craven Cottage in Saturday's Premier League clash.

Boss Frank Lampard has hailed Fulham counterpart and ex-Chelsea team-mate Scott Parker's managerial acumen, with the Cottagers showing a resurgence following a poor start to the season.

Fulham claimed their fifth successive Premier League draw by holding Tottenham 1-1 on Wednesday, having also drawn with champions Liverpool last month.

And Lampard believes Parker is already showing his prowess as a top manager.

"He's diligent, has a good football brain and is very determined," said Lampard.

Scott Parker File Photo
Frank Lampard has hailed the work of Scott Parker, pictured, at Fulham (Tess Derry/PA)

"He wants to do well in everything he does, and prepares right.

"Everything as a player made me think that Scott could go on to coaching and management.

"The only doubt is do they want to.

"He showed his ideas very quickly when he got into his coaching badges and started his pathway to youth teams etcetera.

"He's done fantastically well, he is doing fantastically well and will continue to do so."

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General view of Chelsea's Stamford Bridge taken April 2018
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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