Chelsea’s busy midweeks are the perfect opportunity for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Right now, being part of Chelsea’s ‘B team’ is exactly where Kiernan Dewsbury-Hallneeds 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 Twovisitors Barrow on Tuesday. It would certainly be understandable if he wanted to kick on from here, beginning with Brightonthis 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 Englandsquad 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 Bournemouthearlier this month, a few weeks after being left on the bench against Crystal Palacebefore 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 Hamon Saturday, who would you drop out of Enzo Fernandezor Moises Caicedoin midfield or players further forward, such as Cole Palmer, Noni Maduekeand 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 Jorgensenhad 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 Nkunkuscoring 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 Southamptonand Ipswichin 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.
Chelsea’s busy midweeks are the perfect opportunity for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Right now, being part of Chelsea’s ‘B team’ is exactly where Kiernan Dewsbury-Hallneeds 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 Twovisitors Barrow on Tuesday. It would certainly be understandable if he wanted to kick on from here, beginning with Brightonthis 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 Englandsquad 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 Bournemouthearlier this month, a few weeks after being left on the bench against Crystal Palacebefore 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 Hamon Saturday, who would you drop out of Enzo Fernandezor Moises Caicedoin midfield or players further forward, such as Cole Palmer, Noni Maduekeand 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 Jorgensenhad 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 Nkunkuscoring 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 Southamptonand Ipswichin 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.