Chelsea are looking to cut their losses on midfielder Danny Drinkwater.
The 30-year-old midfielder has not played a single minute for the Blues so far this season and has been restricted to just four appearances for the U23s side.
The former Leicester City player, who won the Premier League title with the Foxes in 2016, is being linked with a move to Germany.
The player's representatives are touting his name around to Bundesliga clubs - according to German outlet Fussballtransfers in the January transfer window as they help to get Drinkwater's career back on track.
The report says Schalke held talks with the England international in November while FC Koln were also interested in him. Clubs from Turkey, Russia and America have also expressed a desire to take him away from Stamford Bridge.
Drinkwater has had a hugely disappointing time in West London after making the £40m move back in 2017. He has made just five league starts for the club and despite being given a fresh opportunity by Burnley and Aston Villa last season out on loan, he failed to make an impact.
Chelsea, therefore, will be hoping to cut their losses on Drinkwater, who still has 18 months left on his contract in the capital. But if they're looking to recuperate even half the fee they paid for him, they should think again.
According to transfermarkt, Drinkwater's current transfer value is just £3.6m - less than a tenth of what the Blues paid for him three and a half years ago. The midfielder's highest market value was in January 2018 when he was worth £18m. That's a drop of nearly £15m in the space of just three years.
The German report says Chelsea are keen to pay a large portion of the player's salary should he move out on loan. This would in turn allow clubs with smaller budgets to take a punt on him.
But it's unclear how many clubs will be keen to take Drinkwater whose best deals are probably now behind him. For both himself and the club, a fresh start is needed as quickly as possible as they can both move on from a deal which is likely to go down as one of the worst in Chelsea's history.
