Express & Star

Alan Hutton: Danny Drinkwater will be first to leave Aston Villa

Former fans’ favourite Alan Hutton believes loan flop Danny Drinkwater will be the first out of the door at Villa when football returns from the coronavirus crisis.

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Drinkwater was brought in during the January transfer window in a bid to bolster Villa’s survival hopes. However, his stay has proved far from ideal as he at first struggled for fitness and game time before reports emerged of a training ground bust-up.

The Chelsea loanee was sent home from training by head coach Dean Smith and it appears his brief career at Villa looks to be over. Asked in an interview whether Drinkwater will be the first to exit Villa Park, Hutton responded: ““Yes, I just don’t think it’s worked and I do feel for him to be honest because he’s a great player, he looks like a great guy.

“He’s had his injury problems, it’s not worked out wherever he’s went and the same things happened at Villa at the moment. We all know how good he was when he was at Leicester, he got the move to Chelsea which didn’t quite work out. It’s just not working here. I know how difficult it can be, he’s been thrown in – his first game was against Manchester City and from not playing for a long time, being out with injury, I know how tough that is. Even if you miss four, five weeks and you go into a Premier League it’s hard, never mind if you’ve missed the season.

“I did feel for him, they were trying to get him up to speed and I think it was just a bridge too far. It’s not quite worked out.”