Danny Drinkwater is good enough to play in a top club like Chelsea, former goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has said.
The Australian is convinced that the Englishman is able to take over from Nemanja Matic in midfield.
Matic left the club to join Manchester United with manager Antonio Conte still trying to figure out how to replace him ahead of this week's Premier League kick-off.
"He's not a Matic, he's more of a creative player," Schwarzer told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast.
"At Leicester last season we saw that he struggled without having N'Golo Kante next to him, but Danny Drinkwater is a very talented young man and has done incredibly well at Leicester.
"I think he's capable of making that step up.
"Whether or not he's someone who will play week-in week-out, whether he's good enough to make that step up to be a mainstream player in Chelsea's first XI, we'll only know once he makes that step if it happens.
"But he's definitely got the ability."
