22. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

Enzo Maresca has told Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall that he must fight for his place as he is no longer 'the main player' he was at Leicester.

The midfielder followed his former Foxes boss to Stamford Bridge in what seemed a strange deal at the time. 

Very strange when you consider we offloaded Conor...then again it was all about balancing the books

[Mário César 1,232]

selling gallagher and getting this guy was one of the worst decisions I can remember seeing

this is going to be like kdb and salah 

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

1 hour ago, Mário César said:

selling gallagher and getting this guy was one of the worst decisions I can remember seeing

this is going to be like kdb and salah 

Club have previous - new owners tend to get rid of Chelsea homegrown fans favourites, like they cant stand the adulation - Bates got rid of Hutch, Ossie and Hudson ambassadors for the club

[nyikolajevics 2,690]

4 hours ago, Mário César said:

selling gallagher and getting this guy was one of the worst decisions I can remember seeing

this is going to be like kdb and salah 

Salah and KDB ended up generational, record breaking players, all-time Premier League greats. I believe Gallagher will sooner or later return to an other Premier League club, but can't really see him being such influental. He is a solid player, a very good player, but that's it. Having to sell him to balance the books is also ok. What we should be concerned about is that the guy we spent 30 million pounds on not being any better than some of the midfielders we already have(and payed for), like Andrey Santos.

I believe KDH will apply himself and turn out to be a good squad member, but so far very week, gotta admit that.

[Vesper 30,085]

5 hours ago, Mário César said:

selling gallagher and getting this guy was one of the worst decisions I can remember seeing

this is going to be like kdb and salah 

no

Conor is not remotely close in terms of level to those 2

I am not a fangirl yet of KDH, but I will give him time

I listed a tonne of CMFs I would have bought before him

but Maresca thinks there is something there that can translate to the EPL

 

[Vesper 30,085]

Chelsea’s busy midweeks are the perfect opportunity for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5792433/2024/09/25/kiernan-dewsbury-hall-Chelsea-analysis/

Right now, being part of Chelsea’s ‘B team’ is exactly where Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall needs to be.

That might sound like a strange thing to say after Dewsbury-Hall completed his first 90 minutes for nearly four weeks in the 5-0 Carabao Cup victory over League Two visitors Barrow on Tuesday. It would certainly be understandable if he wanted to kick on from here, beginning with Brighton this weekend. The midfielder has started just three times for Chelsea this season, none of which have come in the Premier League (the other two came in the Conference League qualifying play-off against Servette). He has accumulated only 44 minutes from three substitute appearances for the club in England’s top division.

No signing wants to be part of the second string when they move to a new team. Dewsbury-Hall rightly spoke with a lot of hope and ambition when he sat down with the media in July for his first interview since joining from Leicester for £30million ($40.2m). For example, he talked about how performing for Chelsea could make his dreams of making the senior England squad a reality.

But he has had it pretty tough since. He has not been helped by starting pre-season training still working back to his best physical condition following an ankle injury sustained at the end of the Championship title-winning campaign with Leicester. Illness also denied him the possibility of featuring against Bournemouth earlier this month, a few weeks after being left on the bench against Crystal Palace before the international break.

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, who he played for at Leicester last season, said in his press conference on the eve of the Barrow match how Dewsbury-Hall has found the realities of playing for a better team something to get used to. He explained: “I’m very happy with Kiernan, but we also need to understand that Kiernan was the main player at Leicester. He has arrived here and he is not the main player. For him, for any player (in this situation) in the world, you need to adapt mentally. But I don’t have any doubts for Kiernan.”

To give you an idea of just how much Dewsbury-Hall was key at his previous club last season compared to his place in the Chelsea pecking order, he featured in all but four of Leicester’s games in all competitions, starting 43 out of their 53 matches. He had 26 goal involvements (12 goals and 14 assists) and was voted the Midlands side’s supporters’ player of the year and players’ player of the year.

But a lack of game time is not the only challenge Dewsbury-Hall now has to deal with. The 26-year-old’s arrival at Stamford Bridge was met with an element of negativity from some Chelsea supporters because it coincided with all the uncertainty surrounding the future of fan-favourite Conor Gallagher. Given they played in similar positions, the transfer was seen as a big signal being sent to Gallagher that his replacement was now in the building. A month later, Gallagher was sold to Atletico Madrid.

Chelsea did not regard it as a like-for-like situation. They saw Gallagher as more of a defensive No 6/8, whereas Dewsbury-Hall plays further forward as an attacking No 8/10. Whether people believe there is a big difference between their roles as players or not, it is a tough act for Dewsbury-Hall to follow.

Gallagher, who is 17 months younger than him and already an established full England international, made the most appearances of any Chelsea player last season (50) and scored a credible seven goals. He has started his Atletico career in fine form, too, with a couple of goals in just five appearances. Inevitably, there is a sense of regret about how things have turned out among the Chelsea following who wanted him to remain. Seeing the footage of Gallagher already making an impact in Spain will just make that section of the fanbase even more convinced a mistake has been made and therefore focus more of a critical eye in Dewsbury-Hall’s direction.

But Dewsbury-Hall should be given a chance to make his mark, like any new signing. Being part of the ‘midweek’ group (for the short term at least) will allow him to begin doing that without the same pressure and expectation he would be under if he was in the ‘A team’. For those featuring in the first XI at the weekend, the need for Chelsea to maintain their challenge for a finish in the Premier League’s top four this season is much more intense.

Let me explain further. Firstly, it is difficult to get into Maresca’s ‘best team’ as it is. After the 3-0 Premier League away win against West Ham on Saturday, who would you drop out of Enzo Fernandez or Moises Caicedo in midfield or players further forward, such as Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho?

Dewsbury-Hall is understandably still having to work on his match fitness and confidence levels. Against Barrow, while Chelsea began quickly and were 3-0 up inside 30 minutes, he was finding it hard to get into the game. Late on in the first half, only Chelsea’s goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen had touched the ball fewer times than him.

However, the longer he was left on the pitch, the more involved he became. According to whoscored.com, no Chelsea player had more shots on goal by full time (four) and that is despite striker Christopher Nkunku scoring a hat-trick (three goals from three attempts). Dewsbury-Hall ended up with the seventh-most touches (48) out of the 16 players Maresca used. You could see him growing in belief and the noises from the stands were more encouraging. But at the same time, this was against ‘only’ fourth-tier Barrow.

What is beneficial for Dewsbury-Hall is the Barrow fixture is the first of a minimum of 10 midweek games on the club’s calendar up to the end of the year. The opposition in the majority of those matches won’t be the strongest either, which means it will be an ideal opportunity to find some better form. There are six games in the group phase of the Conference League, a fourth-round tie in the Carabao Cup, and Premier League meetings with Southampton and Ipswich in December. This busy period will put an extra strain on the squad and surely lead to Dewsbury-Hall being in the starting XI on a much more regular basis.

Maresca confirmed as much when asked by The Athletic how the intense schedule can benefit Dewsbury-Hall. “Absolutely,” he replied. “Like him and all the players that are not starting in the Premier League, they are going to start in the Conference League or the Carabao Cup.”

His presence means another highly-rated attacking midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, who looked good from the bench against Barrow, will struggle to play much.

It has not been an easy start to life at Chelsea for Dewsbury-Hall, but like with many things about Maresca’s team, things are looking up.

[Stats 7,136]

8 hours ago, Mário César said:

selling gallagher and getting this guy was one of the worst decisions I can remember seeing

this is going to be like kdb and salah 

No it was not. As good as Gallagher is, he is not necessarily suited to a possession based team. Maresca informed Gallagher he would be a squad player. Gallagher decided to move. We offered him a contract which yeah was not favourable for his terms, however we have a manager who is trying to implement his style. Is KDH suited to that? Yes. Is Gallagher? No. The board gets criticised for buying players for sake of it, but now when a manager is bringing in a player who suits his football, he still gets slack...

KDH has not even been here for 3 months yet and people aren't even willing to give him a chance... Unbelievable.

[OneMoSalah 8,883]

15 hours ago, Fulham Broadway said:

Enzo Maresca has told Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall that he must fight for his place as he is no longer 'the main player' he was at Leicester.

The midfielder followed his former Foxes boss to Stamford Bridge in what seemed a strange deal at the time. 

Very strange when you consider we offloaded Conor...then again it was all about balancing the books

Yep very strange move.

As said at the time, never an upgrade on Conor, yet people were getting giddy over a season in the Championship.

He has been shocking so far, even in limited minutes, just looks miles off it. 

Edited September 26, 2024 by OneMoSalah

[Vesper 30,085]

31 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

yet people were getting giddy over a season in the Championship.

Not here on TC. 'Giddy' is a large overstatement. 

I just hope he steps up eventually. 

If you want giddy, then we need to sign (CMF-wise) Federico Valverde or Barella or Camavinga or Vitinha.

[OneMoSalah 8,883]

51 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Not here on TC. 'Giddy' is a large overstatement. 

I just hope he steps up eventually. 

If you want giddy, then we need to sign (CMF-wise) Federico Valverde or Barella or Camavinga or Vitinha.

Oh please. Folk were very happy and acting as if KDH was an incredible upgrade because he was a technical upgrade on Conor, had “lit up the championship” and worked with Maresca previously 😂

I genuinely reckon he will be moved on in the summer irrespective due to poor performances or lack of minutes. 

Suppose we will see by the end of the season but said it at the start, was an incredibly daft move and stand by that. Conor’s start at Atletico - 3 league games, 2 goals and 2 MOTMs…. 

Edited September 26, 2024 by OneMoSalah

[Strike 7,474]

1 hour ago, OneMoSalah said:

Oh please. Folk were very happy and acting as if KDH was an incredible upgrade because he was a technical upgrade on Conor, had “lit up the championship” and worked with Maresca previously 😂

I genuinely reckon he will be moved on in the summer irrespective due to poor performances or lack of minutes. 

Suppose we will see by the end of the season but said it at the start, was an incredibly daft move and stand by that. Conor’s start at Atletico - 3 league games, 2 goals and 2 MOTMs…. 

Happy for Gallagher but he did not suit what we are trying to do. He suits Atleti perfectly. Right call to sell with contract ending

[Vesper 30,085]

2 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

acting as if KDH was an incredible upgrade

I did not see this

that is very OTT language

perhaps you could provide examples of this

I saw these qualified statements:

 

 

[Vesper 30,085]

 

[Special Juan 28,091]

His interview was excellent, he just needs to understand that this club expect nothing short of immense levels and he has to produce insane levels he is never used to producing to even get a sniff

[ahmedou 188]