"I would love to play for Manchester United and, if things go as I want them to, I believe I can achieve that," he told the club's official website.
"But the gaffer (Sir Alex Ferguson) has a good relationship with Dave Jones and I always wanted to go out on loan in the Championship."
"Cardiff went close to promotion last season and I would love to help them take it a step farther.
"Cardiff have a lot of quality players right through the squad, such as Stephen McPhail and I've known Tom Heaton for a while when he was at United, and it's good to see him.
"He has certainly helped me settle in."
Drinkwater and Heaton are City's only two summer arrivals so far and both have come from Man Utd.