Chelsea Transfer Chief to Step Up Pursuit of Leicester Midfielder Following Squad Depth Criticisms

Chelsea's transfer handler Marina Granovskaia is ready to step up the club's pursuit of Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater, following Antonio Conte's displeasure at the current state of his squad.

The Blues lost the Community Shield against Arsenal on Sunday and were far from their best, and manager Conte is apparently not satisfied with his current batch ahead of the new Premier League season. 

Victor Fraile/GettyImages

The Italian wants four new signings before the window closes and one of those is believed to be Drinkwater - with Granovskaia supposedly working away on the targets, as reported by the Evening Standard.

The 27-year-old was highly influential for the Foxes in their unlikely Premier League triumph in 2016, and it appears the Blues have not forgotten his exploits.

The former Manchester United player wasn't quite as good last season as Leicester limped into a 12th placed finish, but that hasn't stop reports linking him to a bigger club.

Chelsea have sold Nathaniel Chalobah, Nemanja Matic and loaned out Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the past few weeks and have only brought in Tiemoue Bakayoko thus far.

It is likely the Conte wants Drinkwater given his understanding on the pitch with former teammate N'Golo Kante - the pair were the driving force behind Leicester's 2016 title success.

Granovskaia will be tasked with delivering what Conte wants in the next few weeks starting with £30m-rated Drinkwater, or risk further complaints from the already-frustrated coach.