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West Ham should avoid making a January move for Chelsea outcast Danny Drinkwater, as their central midfield options are more than good enough and perhaps even better than what the midfielder could offer them.

What's the word, then

Well, as reported by The Daily Mail, Maurizio Sarri is not a fan of three current players within the set-up at Stamford Bridge: Victor Moses, Gary Cahill and the aforementioned Drinkwater. The Italian coach does not see the trio as technically good enough to fit into his preferred system, and has deemed them surplus to requirements.

As mentioned in the article, Cahill is in the last year of his contract and should have many suitors keeping tabs on him, seeing as he is still a dependable option at the back, whereas Moses is only out of favour as Sarri has ditched the wing-back system that the Nigerian thrived in under Antonio Conte and is still an attractive player.

Drinkwater is the hardest player to shift on. The England international signed for a huge fee of £35m, and currently earns around £100,000-a-week with the west Londoners according to The Daily Mail - figures that no other club wants to get near, and a wage that the 28-year-old is quite happy with to say the least.

Why West Ham should stay away

First and foremost, one would presume that the fee would have to be above the £20m mark, as the Blues look to recoup as much of their £35m outlay as possible - having spent close to £100m in the summer, the Hammers shouldn't splash the cash once again on a player like Drinkwater.

He wouldn't even justify the fee. Mark Noble and Declan Rice are doing a fine job in midfield and have played a crucial role in the Irons winning three Premier League games on the bounce. Behind those two, Jack Wilshere and Pedro Obiang are waiting in reserve, two players who are also arguably better than Drinkwater.

The Manchester United academy graduate has never seriously proven himself as a top-class midfielder, and it was very strange of Chelsea to spend so much in bringing him to the Bridge. In Leicester's title win back in 2016, you could argue that he played a starring role, but N'Golo Kante perhaps made his job look a lot easier whilst Jamie Vardy's runs gave him a get-out-of-jail free card by simply playing plenty of over-the-top balls.

He would damage squad morale if he were bought into the London Stadium on his terms, and he certainly wouldn't justify the expenditure.