Danny Drinkwater

Danny Drinkwater

Drinkwater playing for Cardiff City in 2010
Personal information
Full nameDaniel Noel Drinkwater
Date of birth5 March 1990
Place of birthManchester, England
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) [1]
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Leicester City
Number4
Youth career
2006–2009Manchester United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2009–2012Manchester United0(0)
2009–2010→ Huddersfield Town (loan)35(2)
2010–2011→ Cardiff City (loan)9(0)
2011→ Watford (loan)12(0)
2011–2012→ Barnsley (loan)17(1)
2012–Leicester City122(10)
National team‡
2006–2008England U182(1)
2008–2009England U1912(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 January 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 January 2012

Daniel Noel "Danny" Drinkwater (born 5 March 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Leicester City. He has previously spent time on loan at Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City, Watford, Barnsley, and played for Manchester United, and has played internationally for England at under-18 and under-19 levels.

Career

Manchester United

Born in Manchester, Greater Manchester, Drinkwater joined the Manchester United academy at the age of nine, progressing through the ranks before earning a trainee contract in July 2006. In his first season at the club, Drinkwater became a regular in the Manchester United under-18 side, making 27 appearances and scoring two goals. He received his first taste of reserve team action that same season, coming off the bench to replace Ritchie Jones in a 5–2 Premier Reserve League win at home to Wigan Athletic. The following season, Drinkwater consolidated his position in the under-18s team while increasing his presence in the reserves. In the 2008 Lancashire Senior Cup final against Liverpool on 31 July 2008, Drinkwater came on as a 56th-minute substitute for Rodrigo Possebon before scoring the winning goal three minutes from full-time. In the 2008–09 season, Drinkwater became a regular in the reserve team, making 18 appearances and getting on the scoresheet twice.

At the end of the season, Drinkwater was called up to the Manchester United first team for their dead rubber league match against Hull City on 24 May 2009. Given the number 46 jersey, he was named on the bench, but did not take to the field.[2]

Huddersfield Town loan

To gain first team experience, on 14 August 2009, Drinkwater joined Huddersfield Town on loan for the duration of the 2009–10 season.[3] He made his debut for the club the very next day, coming on in the 72nd-minute in a 3–1 win at home to Southampton.[4] His first goal for Huddersfield came three days later in a 7–1 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion, five minutes after coming on as a 64th-minute substitute.[5] He made his first start for Huddersfield in a 1–0 defeat at Bristol Rovers on 22 August 2009.[6]

Cardiff City (loan)

On 8 July 2010, Manchester United agreed for Drinkwater to spend a season-long loan spell at Cardiff City. As they were under a transfer embargo at the time, Cardiff said that the move would be completed once this had been lifted,[7] although Drinkwater did play a part in Cardiff's first pre-season friendly against Bath City on 8 July.[8] He then took part in their game in Portugal against Portimonense, which Cardiff lost 3–0.[9] The move was eventually confirmed on 6 August 2010, once the embargo had been removed.[10] Drinkwater's competitive debut for Cardiff came on 8 August, in their 1–1 home draw with Sheffield United on the opening day of the 2010–11 Football League season.[11]

Despite the loan having originally been intended to last the entire season, Manchester United recalled Drinkwater from Cardiff on 25 January 2011. During his time in the Welsh capital, Drinkwater made 12 appearances, including nine in the Championship.[12]

Watford (loan)

Just three days after his return to Manchester United, Drinkwater joined Watford on 28 January on loan until the end of the season.[13]

Barnsley (loan)

On 23 August 2011, Drinkwater joined Barnsley on loan until 2 January 2012,[14] which was later extended until 30 June 2012.[15] He scored his first goal for Barnsley in their 5–3 defeat to Cardiff City, a club where Drinkwater spent a few months on loan.

Leicester City

Drinkwater playing for Leicester City in 2013

On 20 January 2012, Drinkwater joined Leicester City from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee.[16] Despite having an inconsistent first year at the club, Drinkwater's performances during the 2013–14 season earnt him great praise, and after being named Championship Player of the Month for December 2013,[17] he was also one of three players who received a nomination for the Championship Player of the Year Award.[18] Drinkwater had his most successful year as a professional, scoring seven goals and being named to the PFA Championship Team of the Year alongside teammates Kasper Schmeichel and Wes Morgan,[19] as Leicester were promoted to the Premier League after winning the Championship.[20] On 17 June 2014, Drinkwater signed a new four-year deal with Leicester after helping the Foxes win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in ten years.[21]

International career

Drinkwater made his debut for the England under-18s side came in their 2–0 win over Ghana where he scored the second goal of the game.[22] His second under-18 cap came in a 2–0 win over Austria.[23]

He also made appearances and scored once for the England under-19s between 2008 and 2009. His first appearance came in their 2–0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina under-19s on 27 April 2009. His final appearance for the England under-19s came in their 3–1 win over France under-19s on 30 July 2009.[23]

Career statistics

Last updated: 1 January 2015[6]

Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other[nb 1] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester United 2008–09 000000000000
2009–10 000000000000
2010–11 000000000000
2011–12 000000000000
Total 000000000000
Huddersfield Town (loan) 2009–10 3521010—20392
Cardiff City (loan) 2010–11 901020——120
Watford (loan) 2010–11 1200000——120
Barnsley (loan) 2011–12 1711000——181
Leicester City 2011–12 1920000——192
2012–13 4211010—20461
2013–14 4570041—00498
2014–15 1600000—00160
Total 122101051002013011
Career total 182134081004019814

Honours

Club

Leicester City

Individual

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Football League play-offs

References

  1. ↑ "Barclays Premier League Player Profile Daniel Drinkwater". web page. Premier League. 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  2. ↑ Hughes, Ian (24 May 2009). "Hull 0–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  3. ↑ "Drinkwater moves to Huddersfield". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 14 August 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  4. ↑ "Huddersfield 3–1 Southampton". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 15 August 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  5. ↑ "Huddersfield 7–1 Brighton". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 18 August 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Daniel Drinkwater". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  7. ↑ "Man U youngster Daniel Drinkwater joins Cardiff on loan". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 8 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  8. ↑ "City Kick Off Pre-Season With Win". cardiffcityfc.co.uk (Cardiff City FC). 8 July 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "Full Time: Portiomense 3 – 0 Cardiff". cardiffcityfc.com (Cardiff City FC). 17 July 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  10. ↑ "Embargo Lifted, Players Registered". cardiffcityfc.co.uk (Cardiff City FC). 6 August 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  11. ↑ "Cardiff 1–1 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 8 August 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  12. ↑ "Danny Drinkwater returns to Man United from Cardiff". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 25 January 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  13. ↑ "Watford sign Manchester United midfielder Drinkwater". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 28 January 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  14. ↑ Marshall, Adam (23 August 2011). "Danny joins Barnsley". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  15. ↑ "Drinkwater deal sealed". barnsleyfc.co.uk (Barnsley F.C.). 6 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  16. ↑ "Leicester land Drinkwater". lcfc.com (Leicester City). 20 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  17. ↑ "Drinkwater Wins Player Of The Month". lcfc.com (Leicester City FC). 10 January 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  18. ↑ "Football League nominates Ings, Drinkwater & McCormack". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  19. ↑ "Leicester City trio make the PFA Championship Team of the Year". Leicester Mercury. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Leicester City promoted to Premier League after QPR defeat". The Guardian. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  21. ↑ "Transfer news: Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater signs new four-year contract". Sky Sports. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  22. ↑ "Super-Dan". thefa.com (The Football Association). 20 November 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Danny Drinkwater". thefa.com. The Football Association. Retrieved 23 February 2011.

External links