Scouting Report: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

An Immediate Floor Raiser for Chelsea

One of my favorite signings Chelsea has made in the last few windows, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (KDH), has been purchased for around 30 million from Leicester City. KDH is entering his prime at 25 years old and is coming off his best season as a pro while under current manager Enzo Maresca last season. KDH oozes quality in the final third, and his dribbling ability, especially getting out of tight areas, is something Chelsea desperately needs.

I also really liked watching him operate in that left attacking 8 position, linking up with the midfield and attack and being the catalyst on the left-hand side, contributing through balls, incisive passes, and elite creation. It’s easy to picture KDH operating the left channel while Cole Palmer operates the right side. This will give elite chance creation on both sides of the pitch and can keep the opposition from overloading one side.

Additionally, having a player who has already figured out how Maresca likes to play is good. He can help others assimilate into the system, and I expect him to feature a lot at the start of the season because of his proven success in this system.

I'm linking to a YouTube video of mine here, in which I talk a little bit more about my thoughts on KDH.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall Scouting Report

General Information:

• Name: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

• Date of Birth: September 6, 1998 (25)

• Nationality: English

• Current Club: Leicester City

• Position: Central Midfielder

Physical Attributes:

• Height: 178 cm (5'10")

• Preferred Foot: Left

• Build: Slight, but sturdy. Really strong lower half.

Technical Skills:

• Passing:

  

  • Excellent range, both short and long. Loves to create in the center of field outside the box and in that left channel.

  • Visionary, often picks out key passes. Thrived in Enzo Maresca’s system playing through balls to wide runners and central runners, has a terrific ability to put correct weight on passes on those through balls. 

    In terms of chance creation, Dewsbury-Hall's 14 assists last season in the championship are top-tier, supported by an exceptional open play expected assists (opxA) per 90 of 0.24, ranking in the top 3%. His ability to deliver the ball into dangerous areas is further underscored by his high volume of passes into the final third and penalty area, with percentiles in the top 10% for both metrics. 

    

• Ball Control:

  • Great first touch.

  • Comfortable under pressure inside the box, on the run, and off of a turnover.

  • Effective dribbler, especially in tight spaces. This is probably alongside his through balls the most exciting aspect about his game. His successful dribbling per 90 (1.46) also places him in the top 10%, showcasing his skill in one-on-one situations.

    

  I love KDH’s numbers here. Especially progressive carry distance, progressive passes, and successful dribbles.

• Shooting:

  • Hasn’t historically been a great goalscorer, but last season he doubled his career tally by netting 12 goals in the Championship. From a simply a shooting technique standpoint he has a lot talent. Good striking, doesn’t need too much space to get a shot off. It will be interesting to see whether or not his goalscoring form can continue in the Premier League. It’s clear that Maresca has found a formula to get KDH into more goalscoring opportunities.

    

    Here is an overlay from The Athletic that showcases every non-penalty shot from KDH last season. As you can see he liked to get shots off from a lot of different areas, while there wasn’t any goals from outside the box he is willing to take that shot if the space presents itself. One thing that you will see is the goals inside the box. That shows how KDH is asked to crash the box hard in Leicester’s system. Leicester thrived on getting the ball to the byline and utilizing crosses either driven or lofted and they got a lot of easy goals that way.

Tactical Awareness:

• Positioning:

  • Smart positioning in both defense and attack. Pops up in both the right and left half spaces and is given positional freedem to do so. Understands when to make runs into the box and also if the 9 is holding the ball up he instinctively makes the runs deep past that defender and puts the centerbacks into precarious situations as shown below.

    

    

  • Reads the game well.

• Defensive Contribution:

  • Strong tackler and interceptor.

  • Disrupts opposition play effectively.

  • Initiates counter-attacks by winning the ball in the midfield area. Here is a great graphic from The Athletic showcasing where he was able to intercept the ball. Maresca’s system thrives on quickly recovering the ball and pressing high up the field in order to catch defenses in the midst of transition.

    

Physical and Mental Attributes:

• Work Rate:

  • Dewsbury-Hall's standout metric is his ball recoveries in the attacking third per 90 (1.46), which is in the top 1%, indicating a strong pressing game and ability to regain possession high up the pitch. His successful defensive actions per 90 (7.46) and counterpressing actions (0.77) are not as prominent but still contribute to his overall defensive work rate.

  • Good presser. not quite Gallagher level, but more than serviceable especially in Maresca’s system.

  • Very durable despite his high work rate, rarely suffers injuries. Only 1 match missed during his entire career.

    

• Aerial Ability:

  • Not particularly strong in aerial duels, but was able to score quite a few goals using his head this past season. He is 5’10 so he has the ability, but he isn’t the most physical presence so its not really a weakness, but not a strength either.

Playing Style:

• Dynamic box-to-box midfielder.

• Balances offensive and defensive duties well.

• Drives the team forward with dribbling and passing.

• Controls the tempo of the game effectively.

Conclusion:

KDH I think will have a really good tenure at Chelsea because while he is supposed to be hitting his peak at age 25 going on 26, I think he will continue to get better. He seemingly knows his role under Maresca and that structure actually allows him to play more freely as long as he is making sure that covers his initial responsibilities. I also think that KDH will be better because he has better players around him. Opposing defenses won’t be able to key on stopping him because of the attacking quality that Chelsea possess.

Let me know what you all think of the signing I think for the price this is a bit of shrewd business for Chelsea and as always if you would please subscribe to my YouTube channel here and follow me on X here it would be greatly appreciated!

Also Luke Rushbrook on here did a fantastic overview on KDH! Check it out also here.

~ CFCDP (Dylan)